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IN  LANDS  AFAR 


A   SECOND   SERIES   OF 


Mission  Stories  of  Many  Lands 


a  Book  for  gouncj  f  roplc 


PROFUSELY    ILLUSTRATED 


American  Boarti  of  Commissioners  for  jForcign  fHissions 


Congregational  House,  Boston 

'7 


[89? 


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Copyright,  1897,  by 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 


PRESS  OF  SAMUEL  USHEH,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


7 


The  favor  shown  the  volume  of  "Mission  Stories  in  Many  Lands,"  the  first 
edition  published  in  1885,  abundantly  warrants  the  issuing  of  another  collection  of 
stories  selected  from  the  ample  materials  to  be  found  in  the  Young  People's  Depart- 
ment of  the  Missionary  Herald  within  the  last  twelve  years.  Accounts  of  people  and 
scenes  in  lands  far  away,  and  of  the  heroic  men  and  women  who  have  labored  with 
zeal  and  success  for  the  good  of  men  of  other  climes  and  tongues,  are  among  the  best 
sources  of  instruction  and  stimulus  for  readers  young  or  old.  These  stories  are  not 
designed  for  children  or  for  matured  minds,  but  rather  for  that  intermediate  class  which 
is  popularly  called  young  people.  Yet  we  have  constant  testimony  that  both  the 
youngest  and  the  oldest  readers  have  found  these  brief  sketches  of  mission  work 
and  heroism  both  interesting  and  helpful. 

May  this  volume  aid  in  hastening  the  day  when  all  lands  —  those  near  and  those 
afar  —  shall  come  under  the  full  sway  of  our  glorious  King. 


Missionary  Rooms, 

Congregational  House,  Boston, 

October,  1897. 


E.  E.  STRONG, 

Editorial  Secretary  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 


iviai3900 


INDHX   TO    ARTICLES. 


AFRICA. 

Page. 

British  South  Africa 12 

The  Zulus  at  Home 17 

Some  Zulus  1  have  known 21 

Some  Zulu  Kraal  Girls 25 

The  Hero  of  Uganda 29 

Africaner 33 

A  Martyr  in  Africa 37 

The   Romance  of  Hermannsburg  and   its 

Missions 41 

The  Story  of  Basutoland 45 

The  Conversion  of  Libe 49 

South  African  Spiritism 53 

TURKEY. 

Who  are  the  Armenians? 59 

Ancient  Armenia  and  the  Armenian  Church  63 

Children  of  the  Conquerors 67 

The  Martyr  of  Lebanon 72 

The  Kuzzel-Bash  Koords 77 

Some  Villages  in  Koordistan 81 

Palsied  Hatoon  of  Marash 85 

Scenes  in  Central  Turkey 89 

Concerning  the  Yezidees 93 

A  Greek  Town  in  Turkey,  1889 97 

The  Shqipetars  in  1891 102 

A  Gospel  Triumph  in  the  Land  of  Ararat    .  106 

The  History  of  Two  Armenian  Boys  .    .     .  in 

The  Burial  of  Brother  Oscan 115 

Modern  Martyrdom  in  Armenia     ....  119 

A  Martyred  Preacher  in  Turkey     ....  124 

INDIA  AND   CEYLON. 

In  and  about  Madura 133 

Hindu  Caste 138 

Ganesh,  the  Hindu  Lord  of  Hosts  ....  143 

Village  Schools  in  India 147 

Sacred  Men  in  India 151 

Sin-cleansing  Fountains 155 

Children  in  India 159 

A  Mission's  Work  for  the  Young    ....  163 

A  Hindu  Village 167 

On  the  Hills  and  Plains  of  India     ....  171 
African  Boys  in  India:  How  they  came  to 

us       17° 

Walkeshwar,  Bombay 180 

Narayan,  a  Brahman  Boy 184 

The  Parsis 188 

Scenes  in  Jaffna,  Ceylon 192 

In  the  "Tiger's  Den"  in  Kashmir       .    .    .  196 

Ko-thah-byu,  the  Karen  Apostle     ....  201 

CHINA. 

Under  the  Shadow  of  China's  Great  Wall  207 

The  Worship  of  the  Fairy  Fox 211 

James  Gilmour  of  Mongolia 215 

Scenes  in  South  China 220 


CHINA.  —  Continued. 

Page. 

The  "  Celestial "  Beggar 224 

Confucius  and  his  Son  of  the  Seventieth 

Generation 228 

Helper  Ho 232 

A  Chinese  Sunday 236 

A    Home   in  the    Ing    Hok    Mountains    of 

China 240 

Boys  in  China 244 

Doctor  Ch'in  Min-Wang 248 

Preaching  with  a  Lantern  in  China     .    .    .  252 

The  Converted  Silversmith 256 

The   Christian   Endeavor  Society   in  Foo- 

chow,  China 260 

JAPAN. 

The  First  Protestant  Baptisms  in  Japan  .    .  267 

Christian  Work  among  the  Ainu  of  Japan  271 

A  Japanese  Sermon  on  Arrows 275 

The  Study  of  English  in  Japan 277 

A  Basket  of  Missionary  Chips 279 

Another  Basket  of  Chips  from  Japan       .     .  284 

Mr.  Ishii  and  his  Orphanage 289 

Two  Japanese  Stories 295 

MICRONESIA. 
The  Voyage  of  the  "  Morning  Star,"  1890- 

'91        301 

The  Story  of  Butaritari  in  1892 305 

Dining  w  ith  a  King 309 

The  Twelfth  Voyage  of  the  "  Morning  Star," 

1894-95        3J3 

The  Young  People  of  Micronesia  ....  3:7 

From  the  "  Morning  Star  "  in  1896       .     .     .  321 

Among  the  Mortlock  Islands  in  1896  .    .    .  325 

The  Story  of  Tara 329 

PAPAL  LANDS. 

Glimpses  of  Boyhood  in  Mexico     ....  335 

Holy  Week  in  Guadalajara,  1893    ....  339 

The  Story  of  a  Spanish  Colporter  ....  343 

Husinetz  and  John  Huss 348 

OTHER   LANDS. 
The  Haystack  Meeting  and  its  Outcome     .  355 
Keopuolani,  Queen  and  Christian  ....  359 
How  the  Gospel  reached  Samoa     ....  363 
Henry   Martyn :   Scholar,  Saint,  and  Mis- 
sionary          367 

A.  L.  O.  E 371 

A  Missionary  Band 375 

The  Bible  in  Madagascar 380 

The    Missionary    Martyrs    of    Terra    Del 

Fuego 384 

A  Christian  Knight-Errant  and  Hero      .    .  390 
The  Sinking  of  the  Well  on  Aniwa,  New 

Hebrides 394 


INDEX  TO   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


AFRICA. 

Page. 

Native  Bridge  in  East  Africa Frontispiece. 

Map  of  Zambesia J3 

Zambesia —  Group  Picture 15 

An  Unfinished  South  African  Kraal 16 

Zulu  Kraals  in  Natal 18 

A  Zulu  Chief 20 

A  Zulu  Kraal  in  Natal 21 

Umcitwa  and  Yona  with  their  Babe 22 

A  South  African  Wagon 23 

Undinizulu 24 

Mrs.  Ireland's  Kraal  Girls  at  Amanzimtote  ...  25 

The  Theological  Students  at  Amanzimtote    ...  26 

The  Kraal  Girls'  Home  at  Amanzimtote     ....  28 

Alexander  Mackay 29 

A  Village  in  East  Central  Africa 31 

Traveling  in  Africa 32 

Africaner 33 

Hottentots 34 

Traveling  in  South  Africa 36 

Bishop  Hartnington       37 

Lions  and  Jackals  Disturbed  by  Hunters   ....  39 

A  View  of  Durban,  Natal 43 

Zulu  Warriors  with  Shield  and  Assegai 44 

Dr.  Moffat's  Attendants 45 

Dr.  Moffat's  House  and  Church  at  Kuruman    .   .  46 

An  African  Village 47 

Moshesh,  King  of  the  Basutos  (1833)      49 

A  Basuto  Warrior 5° 

The  Baptism  of  Libe S1 

Spirit  Doctor  "  Extracting"  a  Disease 53 

A  Scene  in  South  Africa 54 

Zulu  Witch  Doctors 56 

TURKEY. 
Afion  Kara  Hissar,   an  Out-Station   of  Smyrna, 

Western  Turkey 58 

Haig,  the  Founder  of  the  Armenian  Race     ...  59 

Part  of  the  Town  of  Bardezag 60 

Class  in  the  Bardezag  High  School 61 

An  Armenian  Family 62 

The  Euphrates  at  Gaban  Maden 64 

The  Tigris  near  Diarbekir 66 

Mohammedan  School  Children 68 

Mohammedan  School  Boys  in  Holiday  Attire  .   .  69 

Mohammedan  Girl  at  Fountain 70 

Turkish  Women 71 

Beirut,  Syria,  with  a  Portion  of  Lebanon   ....  73 

A  Young  Syrian  Gentleman 74 

The  Convent  of  Canobeen,  Mt.  Lebanon  ....  75 

A  Maronite  Patriarch 76 

A  Koord 77 

Prominent  Kuzzel-Bash  Koords 78 

Translators  of  the  Koordish  Bible 80 

A  Koordish  Merchant 81 


TURKEY.  —  Continued. 

Page. 

Church  and  Schoolhouse  at  Kilise,  Koordistan     .  82 

Ruins  of  an  Ancient  Church  at  Farkin 83 

A  Mother  and  Child  in  Turkey 85 

Central  Turkey  Girls'  College  at  Marash,  with 

Theological  Seminary 86 

Market  Place  at  Antioch,  Central  Turkey  ....  87 

Kindergarten  at  Aintab 9° 

Dervishes      91 

Koordish  Children      92 

Chief  of  the  Devil- Worshipers 93 

High  Priest  of  the  Devil- Worshipers 94 

Dance  of  the  Devil- Worshipers  at  the  Tomb  of 

Sheikh  Adi 95 

Yezidee  Women  . 96 

A  Greek  Peasant  Woman 98 

Kerassoun,  on  the  Black  Sea,  between  Ordoo  and 

Trebizond IO° 

Greek  Young  Men Iot 

A  Mountain  Albanian J°2 

An  Albanian  Peasant io3 

Albanian  Woman  of  the  City 104 

Albanians  of  the  North 105 

Village  Armenians io7 

Atom  and  the  Scholars  at  Van 108 

The  Family  at  Van i°9 

Marderos  and  Wife "° 

Rev.  Simone  Tavitian IIJ 

The  Bebek  Seminary  Building "3 

The  Persecuting  Patriarch "5 

A  Square  in  Constantinople "7 

Mosque  of  Sultan  Achmed,  Constantinople  ...  118 

Armenian  Village  Priests 120 

Class  of  1893,  Harpoot  Theological  Seminary  .   .  122 

Turkish  Brigands I23 

The  Old  Tower  of  the  School  of  Edessa,  Oorfa    .  125 
The  Old  Armenian  Church  of  Oorfa  (where  the 

Massacre  occurred) j  •  126 

The  Six  Children  of  Mr.  Abouhaiatian 127 

Rev.  Hagop  Abouhaiatian 128 

Constantinople  from  the  Turkish  Cemetery  on  the 

Asiatic  Side      I29 

INDIA  AND  CEYLON. 
The    Tope    of   Sanchi.     A    Buddhist    Memorial 

Monument l32 

Vegetable  Market  in  India *34 

Village  Life  in  India I36 

Hindu  Silversmith x37 

Hindu  Carpenters  at  Work *39 

A  Marathi  Brahman '41 

Hindu  Women  with  Water-Jars 142 

Ganesh *43 

Ganesh,  with  his  Eight  Attendants 144 

The  God  Puliar,  or  Ganesh 146 


Index  to  Illustrations. 


INDIA   AND  (  1  \  1  I  >N'.  —  Continuru. 

Page. 

A  Village  School  in  a  Chowdi >47 

A  High-I  ute  Girls' School  near  Ahmednagar  ■  .  149 

Indian  Fakir '51 

The  Iron  Cage 152 

Indian  Ox iS3 

Rolling  Fakirs 154 

A  Sin-cleansing  Fountain  in  India 156 

Idol  in  a  Tree >57 

High  Priest  of  the  Madura  Temple 158 

After  Dinner  in  India 159 

Decorating  the  Threshold 160 

Drawing  Water 162 

The  High  School  at  Madura 163 

A  Class  in  the  Pasumalai  Institution 165 

A  Hindu  Village  Sanctuary 167 

Hindu  Carpenters 168 

Christian  Prayer-house  and  Schoolhouse    ....  170 

Kodeikanal  from  the  West 172 

A  Springless  Bullock  Cart 174 

The  Old  Mission  Chapel  at  Kodeikanal 175 

The  African  Boys   as   they  returned  from  India  177 

A  Native  Pial  School  of  India 179 

Hindu  Temple  at  Walkeshwar,  Bombay     ....  181 
A  Temple  Door  and  Priest  at  Walkeshwar    .    .    .  183 
Junior  Class  of  Manual  Training  School,  Ahmed- 
nagar        185 

College  and  High  School  at  Ahmednagar  ....  187 

The  Towers  of  Silence 189 

A  Parsi  Merchant  of  Bombay 191 

A  Devil-Priestess 192 

Native  House  in  Jaffna tg3 

A  Native  Ox-Cart 194 

A  Native  Catechist  on  a  Tour 195 

Ascent  of  the  Himalayas  in  Kashmir 197 

Kanaya  and  his  Associates 199 

Moslems  of  India 200 

A  Red  Karen  Village 201 

Ko  thah-byu  Memorial  Hall 203 

A  Karen  Preacher 204 

CHINA. 

Map  of  China 206 

Outer  Great  Wall  at  Kalgan 207 

North  Wall  and  Gate  of  Kalgan 208 

Inner  Great  Wall  near  Peking 209 

Bell  and  Tower  of  Chapel 210 

A  Tower  in  the  Great  Wall  of  China 211 

A  Fox  Temple  by  the  City  Wall  at  Tung-cho    .   .  213 

The  Thunder  Spirit 214 

James  Gilmour 216 

James  Gilmour's  Tent 217 

A  Mongol  Encampment 219 

The  Conference  of  the  South  China  Mission     .    .  220 

Mrs.  Hager's  Kindergarten  at  Hong  Kong    .   .   .  221 

The  Christian  Salt-Fish  Dealer 223 

A  Group  of  Beggars  at  Peking 225 

Chinese  Prisoners  before  the  Court 227 

Lantern-Bearer 228 

Temple  of  Confucius 229 

A  Chinese  Court  of  Justice 231 

A  Street  in  Peking 233 

Chinese  Traders  by  the  River  Bank 235 

Eating  Stalls  at  Temple 236 

Paper  Money  Seller 237 

Temple  Worshipers 238 

An  Inquiry  Meeting 239 


CHINA.-    1 

Page. 
Hw.i   Sang,   the  Village   where  the    English    Mis- 

tionaries  were  murdered,  August  i,  1895  .  .  240 

Chinese  at  Mealtime 242 

Cooking  a  Meal 243 

A  Grainrooi  Digger 244 

Burning  Paper  Images 245 

A  Wedding  Procession 247 

Doctor  Ch'in  and  his  Friend 249 

The  Sitting-room  of  a  Wealthy  Chinaman  .   .    .   .  250 

Chinese  River  Boats      252 

A  Chinese  Monastery 254 

A  Chinese  Orchestra 255 

A  Chinese  Merchant 256 

A  Section  of  Hong  Kong 258 

Church  in  Foochow  Suburbs  where  the  Rally  was 

held 261 

Mr.  Ling 262 

Officers  of   the  Christian    Endeavor    Society    of 

Girls'  School,  Foochow 263. 

Chio  Lang  Chia 264 

JAPAN. 

Japanese  Bonzes  (Buddhist  Priests)  Praying    .   .  266 

Jimmu,  the   First  Emperor  of  Japan 267 

View  from  the  Bridge  of  Nippon,  Tokio     ....  269 

A  Japanese  Family 270 

An  Ainu  over  his  Cups 271 

Ainu  Hunter 272 

An  Ainu  Dwelling.  —  Mortar  for  Hulling  Wheat  273 

The  Only  Christian  Ainu  Evangelist  and  his  Wife  274 

A  Japanese  Archer  of  the  Old  Time 276 

Facsimile  of  Two  Pages  of  a  Japanese   English 

Dictionary 278 

A  Japanese  Buddhist  Funeral  Ceremony    ....  280 

By  the  Side  of  a  Japanese  Temple 282 

Fuji,  "  The  Matchless  Mountain" 285 

A  Japanese  Restaurant 286 

Pilgrims  to  Mount  Fuji 288 

Mr.  Ishii 289 

A  Castle  in  Japan 291 

Orphans  at  Nagoya 293 

The  Hand  in  the  Jar 295 

Shiba  Onko's  Presence  of  Mind 296 

The  Good  Ears  and  Tongues      297 

MICRONESIA. 

A  Micronesian  Family      300 

Native  House  on  Ponape 301 

Calling  to  Church,  on  Ruk 302 

A  Scene  in  a  Butaritari  Village,  Gilbert  Islands  304 

Nan  Temate,  King  of  Butaritari 305 

A  Maneaba  of  Former  Times 307 

Gilbert  Island  Warriors  of  Former  Times   ....  308 

The  "  Morning  Star  " 309 

Marshall  Islander  (in  Native  Dress) 311 

Bread-fruit  of  Micronesia 312 

A  Coral  Island 313 

Chiefs  House  on  Nonouti,  Gilbert  Islands    .    .   .  3t5 

A  Marshall  Islands  Village 316 

A  Coral  Island  of  Micronesia 317 

Kusaie  from  the  Harbor.     Mr.  Channon's  House 

and  the  Boathousc 319 

Butaritari,  Gilbert  Islands,  from  the  Sea    ....  320 

"  Morning  Star,"  No.  4 321 

Pupils   of  Gilbert  Island  Training    School,  taken 

to  Kusaie  by  the  "  Morning  Star  " 322 


IO 


Index  to  Illustrations. 


MICRONESIA.  — Continued. 

Page. 

Benjamin,  Preacher  at  Ebon,  with  his  Wife    .   .  324 

Missionary  Schooner  "  Robert  W.  Logan  "...  32s 

Map  of  Micronesia 32^ 

The  Church  at  Lukunor 327 

Heathen  Natives  of  Ruk,  Micronesia 33° 

The  Girls'  School  at  Ruk 332 

PAPAL  LANDS. 

The  Plaza  of  Guadalajara,  Mexico 334 

Hacendado  (Farmer) 335 

On  the  Way  to  Market 336 

Donkey-Boys  of  Guaymas  (Water-Sellers)    ...  337 

A  Pueblo,  or  Village,  in  Mexico 339 

The  Cathedral  at  Guadalajara 34° 

The  Hanging  of  Judas 342 

Spanish  Street  with  Diligence 344 

Priest  Discussing  a  Tract 346 

Husinetz,  the  Village  where  Huss  was  born      .   .  349 

Huss  Garden  in  Rear  of  Chapel 351 

The  New  Chapel  at  Husinetz 352 

OTHER   LANDS. 

Tree  Houses  in  New  Guinea 354 

A  Scene  near  Williamstown 355 

West  College  (in  which  Mills  roomed) 356 

The  Mission  Park  and  Monument,  when  Dedi- 
cated in  1867 357 

Main  Street,  Williamstown 35^ 

Wailuku,  Island  of  Maui,  Sandwich  Islands     .    .  360 

Wailing  Scene  at  the  Death  of  Keopuolani    ...  362 


OTHER   LANDS.  — Continued. 

Page. 

Harbor  of  Pago-Pago,  Tutuila,  Samoa  ...  363 

A  Samoan  Fale-Tele,  or  Council-House 364 

Malietoa,  King  of  Samoa  in  1839 365 

Samoan  Duck-Duck  Dancers 366 

Pagoda,  Aldeen  House 367 

Shiraz 368 

Tokat  in  1812 3^9 

In  the  Zenana 372 

Traveling  with  Bullocks  in  India 373 

Hindu  Woman  with  Ornaments 374 

C.  T.  Studd.     Stanley  P.  Smith 376 

C.  T.  Studd,  M.  Beauchamp,  S.  P.  Smith,  A.  T. 
Polhill-Turner,  D.  E.  Hoste,  C.   H.  Polhill- 

Turner,  W.  W.  Cassels 377 

A  Chinese  Garden 379 

Copy  of  Old  Bible,  Opened  at  Isaiah  li  and  liii     .  380 

Copy  of  Old  Malagasy  Bible,  Antananarivo,  1835  381 

Modern  Bible,  London,  1885 381 

Consolation  to  a  Christian  in  Chains 382 

An  Ancient  Gateway  with  Rolling  Door     ....  383 

Fuegians  in  Winter 3^5 

The  Bishop's  Residence,  at  Ooshooia,  1869   .    .   .  386 

The  "  Allen  Gardiner,"  No.  3,  built  in  1884  ...  388 

John  Coleridge  Patteson 39° 

Island  Scenery 391 

A  Native  House 392 

A  Woman  of  Melanesia 393 

Natives  of  the  New  Hebrides 394 

Mission  House  at  Aniwa 39& 

Native  Grass-House,  Sandwich  Islands     ....  398 


Africa. 


BRITISH  SOUTH  AFRICA. 


The  eyes  of  men  in  all  parts  of  the  world  are  turned  toward  South  Africa, 
since  European  nations,  as  well  as  Africa,  are  concerned  in  what  is  transpir- 
ing there.  It  is  just  410  years  since  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  was  discovered 
by  Europeans.  A  little  more  than  100  years  later  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany began  a  plan  for  colonizing  that  region,  but  it  was  not  until  1652  that 
a  settlement  of  100  Dutch  colonists  was  made  near  the  Cape.  This  Colony, 
however,  was  increased,  before  the  seventeenth  century  closed,  by  a  large  number 
of  Huguenot  refugees  who  were  exiled  from  Europe  upon  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685.  The  English  came  there  about  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  and  Cape  Colony  was  governed  alternately  by  British  and  Dutch 
officials.  By  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  in  181 5,  the  Colony  was  formally  ceded  to 
Great  Britain,  and  since  then  it  has  developed  rapidly.  It  has  an  area  consid- 
erably larger  than  that  of  New  England  and  the  Middle  States  combined,  and  a 
population,  including  its  dependencies,  of  about  one  and  a  half  millions,  of  whom 
376,000  are  of  European  descent.  The  Dutch  settlers  in  Cape  Colony  have 
always  chafed  under  British  rule,  and  they  were  especially  irritated  when,  in  1833, 
slavery  was  abolished  within  British  domains.  These  Boers,  as  they  are  called, 
were  great  farmers,  and  wished  to  keep  their  large  landed  estates  with  plenty  of 
Hottentots  and  Kaffirs  as  their  slaves.  Many  of  them,  therefore,  broke  away 
from  their  homes  in  Cape  Colony  and  moved  northward  into  the  unoccupied 
regions.  Some  of  them  went  to  Natal,  hoping  to  find  a  home  there,  but  the 
British  were  before  them,  and  they  turned  again  toward  the  interior.  As  a  result 
of  these  removals  they  have  established  two  states ;  first,  the  Orange  Free  State, 
north  of  the  Orange  River  and  south  of  the  Vaal  River.  This  has  an  area  about 
the  same  as  that  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  a  population  of  about  200,000, 
of  whom  80,000  are  whites.  Immense  changes  took  place  in  the  Free  State  upon 
the  discovery  of  diamond  mines,  and  people  flocked  into  the  territory,  not 
only  from  all  parts  of  Africa,  but  also  from  England,  Germany,  and  even  the 
United  States.     The  value  of  diamonds  produced  in  1893  was  over  $2,000,000. 

To  the  north  and  northeast  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  and  across  the  Vaal 
River,  is  the  Transvaal,  now  known  as  the  South  African  Republic,  which  is  about 
the  size  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia  combined,  having  a  population 
of  about  650,000,  of  whom  120,000  are  foreign-born.  This  is  an  independent 
Republic,  though  by  treaty  with  Great  Britain  the  latter  government  has  the  man- 
agement of  all  its  foreign  affairs.  The  region  is  favorable  to  agriculture,  and  within 
the  Republic  there  are  about  30,000  farms.  But  the  great  attraction  which 
has  drawn  such  multitudes  to  the  Republic  has  been  its  gold  fields,  which  have 
yielded  large  returns.  In  1894  the  gold  product  amounted  to  $38,335,000. 
The  Witswatersrand,  usually  shortened  to  "  The  Rand,"  is  a  reef  about  fifty  miles 


Btitish  South  Africa. 


13 


in  length,  rich  in  deposits  of  geld-  Johannesburg,  in  the  centre  of  the  mining 
region,  is  a  citv  0!  over  60,000  inhabitants,  with  banks,  street  railways,  electric 
lights,  etc.  \Vt  ten  years  ago  the  very  name  of  the  place  did  not  appear  on  any 
map.  So  many  Zulus  from  Natal  ami  the  east  coast  have  flocked  to  Johannes- 
burg to  obtain  the  large  wages  paid  to  miners,  that  our  Zulu  Mission  has  sent  one 
of  its  members,  Rev.  H.  D.  C.oodenough,  to  labor  there.  He  finds  these  men 
quite  accessible,  and  the  effort  in  their  behalf  proves  eminently  successful. 

The  recent  political  disturbances  in  the  South  African  Republic  have  arisen  on 


account  of  the  hostility  between  the  Dutch  Boers,  who  control  the  government, 
and  the  "  Uitlanders,"  or  foreigners,  who  have  been  attracted  by  the  mineral 
riches  of  the  district  and  who  now,  beside  largely  outnumbering  the  Boers,  are 
said  to  own  nine  tenths  of  all  the  property.  These  Uitlanders  claim  that  their 
rights  are  disregarded,  while  the  Boers,  under  their  President,  Paul  Kruger,  claim 
that  it  is  their  country,  which  they  have  a  light  to  rule,  and  that  the  Uitlanders 
are  interlopers.  Dr.  Jameson's  recent  unfortunate  raid  was  doubtless  undertaken 
in  the  thought  that  the  Uitlanders  were  about  to  inaugurate  a  rebellion  against 
the  Boer  government,  and  he  wished  to  aid  them. 


14  British  South  Africa. 

If  you  will  look  at  the  sketch  map  on  the  preceding  page,  you  will  find  a  vast 
district  west  and  north  of  the  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal  called  Zambesia.  It 
is  known  in  South  Africa  as  Rhodesia,  so  called  in  honor  of  Hon.  Cecil  Rhodes, 
late  premier  of  Cape  Colony,  and  the  leading  spirit  in  bringing  this  region 
under  the  British  flag.  It  is  indeed  an  enormous  territory,  covering  about 
750,000  square  miles,  which  is  about  one  fourth  of  the  area  of  the  whole  United 
States,  from  Maine  to  California.  You  will  see  that  it  embraces  Bechuanaland 
and  the  country  of  Khama,  that  noble  African  chieftain  whose  ability  and 
Christian  character  have  made  his  name  so  famous  not  only  in  Africa  but  in  all 
the  civilized  world.  It  covers  also  Matebeleland,  where  Lobengula  and  his  fierce 
warriors  made  his  capital,  Bulawayo,  a  great  camp  of  warriors,  from  which  incur- 
sions were  made  into  all  the  regions  round  about.  Zambesia  includes  also 
Mashonaland,  and,  stretching  up  to  the  Zambesi,  and  crossing  that  river,  it 
extends  northward  till  it  reaches  the  south  border  of  the  Congo  Free  State. 

This  vast  region  is  not  ruled  directly  by  the  British  government,  but  by  the 
British  South  Africa  Company,  which  by  its  charter,  given  in  October,  18S9,  was 
empowered  to  undertake  the  administration  and  development  of  these  regions. 
The  Company,  under  the  lead  of  Cecil  Rhodes,  has  established  forts  at  a  number 
of  points  in  the  interior,  has  extended  railroads  and  telegraphs  northward,  and 
has  accomplished  marvels  in  the  development  of  these  regions  so  rich  in  mineral 
wealth  and  so  well  adapted  to  agriculture.  The  love  of  gold  and  the  love  of 
empire  have  urged  on  the  Chartered  Company,  and  British  South  Africa  bids  fair 
to  become  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  prosperous  colonies  of  the  British 
Empire.  May  it  come  also  speedily  under  the  dominion  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  ! 
This  region  which  we  have  thus  briefly  described  is  most  interesting  to  us 
because  it  is  so  intimately  connected  with  the  missionary  labors  of  Moffat  and 
Livingstone  and  other  brave  and  sainted  men  who  have  given  their  lives  for  the 
benefit  of  their  fellow-men.  Robert  Moffat  labored  long  and  successfully  among 
the  Bechuanas.  Livingstone  went  from  Kuruman,  which  you  will  find  on  the 
sketch  map,  northward  to  Lake  Ngami,  and  then  on  until  he  reached  the 
Zambesi,  discovering  the  Victoria  Falls,  probably  the  most  marvelous  of  all  the 
cataracts  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Later,  Livingstone  went  still  farther  north- 
ward, revealing  to  the  world  something  of  the  horrors  of  the  slave  traffic  and 
calling  upon  Christendom  to  send  the  gospel  to  the  tribes  of  the  interior.  Upon 
the  northern  boundaries  of  what  is  now  called  Zambesia,  Livingstone  died,  while 
upon  his  knees  praying  for  Africa.  Sooner  than  he  thought  has  the  civilized 
world  reached  out  to  the  region  which  he  explored,  and  commerce  and  Christian 
missionaries  have  attempted  to  do  what  he  sought  to  have  them  do. 

As  for  misionary  enterprises  in  Zambesia,  the  London  Society  is  still  at  work 
among  the  Bechuanas.  King  Khama  is  laboring  steadfastly  to  bring  his  people 
under  the  power  of  Christian  truth.  Missionaries  among  the  Matebeles  had 
labored  for  thirty  years,  and  did  not  dare  to  reckon  more  than  one  or  two 
converts,  but  since  the  overthrow  of  Lobengula  a  mission  force  has  been  well 
established  at  Bulawayo.  On  the  eastern  border  of  Mashonaland,  at  Mount 
Silinda,  our  American  Board  has  established  its  East  Central  African  Mission. 
The  French  Evangelical  Mission  is  laboring  most  successfully  among  the  Barotse, 
just  north  of  the  Zambesi,  while  on   Lakes  Nyasa  and  Shire"   the  Scotch  Free 


British  South  Africa. 


15 


i6 


British  South  Africa. 


and  Established  churches  are  having  marked  success.  And  still  farther  to  the 
north,  toward  Lake  Tanganyika,  the  heralds  of  the  Cross  are  telling  of  the 
Saviour  of  men.  How  the  heart  of  Livingstone  would  have  rejoiced  could  he 
have  seen  the  progress  which  has  been  made  since  1849,  when  he  started  north- 
ward from  Kolobeng  on  his  first  missionary  journey  ! 

In  the  cut  on  the  preceding  page  there  have  been  brought  together  a  number 
of  interesting  scenes  connected  with  Zambesia.  You  will  find  there  small 
portraits  of  Dr.  Moffat  and  Livingstone.  The  chair  in  which  King  Khar.  ia  sits 
is  a  sign  of  the  elevation  of  himself  and  his  tribe  from  the  ground  on  whicl  they 
formerly  sat.  The  little  sketch  of  the  Victoria  Falls  cannot,  of  course,  show 
their   grandeur,  but   they  suggest  the  name  which   the   natives  give  the   nils ; 


AN    UNFINISHED    SOUTH    AFRICAN    KRAAL 


namely,  "  Sounding  Smoke."  The  animals  which  are  here  pictured,  which  Living- 
stone saw  in  such  abundance,  such  as  the  lion,  antelope,  giraffe,  and  the  elephant, 
are  still  found  on  the  high  lands,  and  the  alligator  and  rhinoceros  in  the 
rivers.  But  there  was  no  mission  ship  on  Lake  Tanganyika  when  he  was 
there.  We  cannot  say  much  for  the  pictured  diamonds  and  gold  nuggets ;  to 
most  men  they  are  the  great  attraction  in  Zambesia;  but  there  is  something 
there  of  infinitely  greater  worth.  There  are  millions  of  human  beings  needing 
the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  rejoice  in  the  development  of  Zambesia, 
because  the  way  is  thus  opened  for  the  bringing  of  this  vast  region  under  the 
sway  of  the  King  of  kings. 


THE  ZULUS  AT  HOME. 


BY    REV.    11.    D.    i:<i()I)ENOUGH,    OK   THE    ZULU    MISSION. 


On  the  next  page  is  a  picture  of  some  Zulu  kraals.  This  word  kraal 
(pronounced  brawl)  is  a  Hottentot  word  used  by  ttie  Dutch  and  English  to 
describe  a  collection  of  native  huts.  In  the  picture  there  are  six  kraals,  each 
having  from  four  to  twelve  huts.  You  will  notice  in  the  centre  a  circular 
enclosure.  This  is  the  cattle-pen,  called  a  cattle-kraal,  and  around  this  are 
clustered  the  huts  in  a  circle.     Here  you  see  the  home  of  the  uncivilized  Zulus. 

Now  I  want  the  young  people  who  read  these  words  to  imagine  that  instead 
of  being  born  a  little  white  baby  boy  or  girl  in  a  comfortable,  civilized  home, 
you  first  opened  your  eyes  a  little  black  heathen  in  one  of  these  kraals  in  Africa. 
In  the  dusky  faces  bending  over  you  would  have  been  a  kindly  interest,  for  a 
Zulu  child  is  always  welcome.  To  father  and  mother  "  children  are  a  heritage, 
and  blessed  is  the  man  that  hath  his  quiver  full."  Boys  and  girls  are  alike 
welcome.  If  there  is  any  difference  it  is  in  favor  of  the  girls,  for  each  of 
whom  the  father  receives  ten  head  of  cattle  when  she  is  married.  As  you  grow 
old  enough  to  look  about  your  humble  home,  you  would  see  beneath,  a  circular 
floor  of  hard  earth,  and  above,  the  sloping  sides  of  one  dome-shaped  room, 
destitute  of  windows  and  with  no  opening  except  a  small  arched  doorway  so 
low  that  people  must  stoop  or  crawl  to  enter.  There  is  no  chimney,  and  the 
dim  light  is  dimmer  still  by  reason  of  the  smoke  from  the  fire  in  the  circular 
hollow  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  Here  the  simple  family  meal  is  cooked,  and 
here  the  dusky  members  of  the  family  gather  at  night  with  no  light  but  that  of 
the  fire,  and  tell  stories  far  into  the  evening.  Hanging  from  the  smoke-begrimed 
roof  you  would  see  stalks  of  native  grain  stuck  into  the  basketwork  of  little 
sticks  which  forms  the  framework  of  the  hut.  You  would  also  see  ears  of  corn 
braided  together  and  suspended  from  the  roof,  and  sticks  of  various  sorts  stuck 
into  the  sides  of  the  hut. 

A  Zulu  boy  or  man  seldom  goes  from  home  without  carrying  several  sticks, 
partly  as  a  defence  against  human  enemies,  and  partly  for  use  against  venomous 
snakes,  of  which  there  are  plenty  in  the  grass.  Some  of  these  sticks  have  large 
knobs  on  the  end,  and  are  called  knob-kerries.  There  are  spears  too,  called 
assagais,  thrust  into  the  side  of  the  hut,  and  various  articles  —  snuffboxes  and 
gourds,  used  as  dishes — suspended  from  the  roof  or  lying  on  the  floor.  At 
night  you  would  sleep  on  a  piece  of  matting  made  of  a  special  kind  of  grass. 
As  a  baby  you  would  have  no  pillow  unless,  perhaps,  a  rolled-up  corner  of  the 

'7 


The  Zulus  at  Home 


/'//(•  Zulus  at  Home.  19 

rough,  brown  blanket.  But  grown  people  have  wooden  pillows  made  from  the 
limb  of  a  tree,  so  cut  that  attached  pieces  of  branches  form  legs  like  a  little 
stool.  In  the  morning  you  would  be  taken  up  without  washing  or  dressing  — 
perhaps  some  fat  would  be  rubbed  over  you.  You  would  then  be  tied  upon 
your  mother's  back  as  she  went  about  her  work  —  out  into  the  garden  to 
with  a  big  hoe  as  heavy  as  a  dozen  of  the  light  American  garden  hoes ;  or 
perhaps  she  goes  with  a  company  of  other  women  to  bring  treacle  in  calabashes 
on  their  heads  from  the  sugar-mill  ten  or  even  fifteen  miles  from  home. 

As  you  grew  a  little  older,  so  that  you  could  be  trusted  to  the  care  of  one 
of  your  little  sisters,  you  would  be  transferred  from  your  mother's  back  to  that 
of  a  very  small  girl,  who,  to  keep  you  quiet,  nudges  your  sides  with  her  elbows, 
and  runs  with  you  outside  the  hut  to  the  cattle-kraal  to  see  the  men  milk,  and 
into  the  huts  of  your  father's  other  wives  ;  for  your  father  is  a  polygamist  and 
each  wife  has  a  hut  for  herself.  If  you  want  to  know  what  your  father  would 
look  like,  glance  at  the  picture  of  a  Zulu  chief  on  the  next  page.  If  you  remove 
his  shield  and  assagai  and  necklace  of  shells  and  tiger's  claws,  it  will  do  very  well 
to  represent  any  ordinary  Zulu  man.  Instead  of  sweet  milk  for  your  dinner  your 
little  sister  gives  you,  from  a  gourd,  sour  milk  called  amasi,  which  is  con- 
sidered by  the  Zulus  much  nicer  than  sweet  milk.  You  are  taken  to  see  the  men 
building  the  huts,  and  the  women  grinding  the  corn  between  two  stones. 

As  you  grow  up  you  will  get  very  definite  notions  of  what  is  "  boy's  work  " 
and  what  is  "  girl's  work."  The  girls  will  fetch  wood  and  water,  do  the 
weeding,  carry  the  mealies  (Indian  corn)  to  market,  etc.  The  boys  will 
herd  the  cattle,  lead  the  oxen  for  plowing,  or  drive  or  hold  the  plow,  milk  the 
cows,  and  build  the  huts.  If  you  are  a  boy  you  will  be  ashamed  to  carry 
burdens  or  gather  wood,  because  that  is  girl's  work.  Have  you  never 
known  boys  in  this  country  who  were  ashamed  to  wash  dishes,  or  sweep  the 
house,  or  take  care  of  baby,  because  that  was  girl's  work?  During  some  long 
stormy  days  as  you  sit  by  your  mother  in  the  hut  as  she  weaves  mats,  or  shells 
her  harvested  beans,  she  teaches  you  to  make  bead  necklaces  or  a  bead  dress 
for  yourself,  and  perhaps  tells  you  nursery  tales.  You  will  hear  dark,  fearful 
stories  of  cannibals,  of  witches,  of  murderers,  who  kill  little  children  to  get 
medicines  from  their  bodies  to  use  as  charms.  You  will  grow  up  like  your  parents, 
suspicious  and  afraid  of  all  about  you  —  afraid  lest  they  shall  employ  some 
evil  charm  upon  you,  or  lest  you  shall  be  accused  of  employing  the  like  upon 
them.  You  will  believe  in  rain  doctors,  who  pretend  to  have  power  to  cause  it 
to  rain.  You  will  believe  in  witch  doctors  and  will  consult  them.  You  will 
believe,  like  your  parents,  that  the  snake  which  comes  about  your  hut  is  the 
spirit  of  some  ancestor  returning  to  his  home,  and  you  will  offer  sacrifices  to  it. 

In  short,  you  will  grow  up  believing  and  practising  just  what  your  parents  do. 
You  will  grow  up  and  come  to  understand  the  system  of  polygamy,  and,  if  a 
girl,  would  look  forward  to  the  time  when  you  are  to  be  one  of  several  wives  of 
a  heathen  man.  If  a  boy,  you  become  ambitious  to  be  the  master  of  a  large 
kraal  with  many  wives  and  many  cattle,  and  with  many  daughters  to  be  sold  in 
marriage  for  more  cattle.  For  polygamy  degrades  marriage  to  a  mere  matter 
of  business  —  the  means  of  wealth-getting  :  the  more  wives  the  more  daughters, 


20 


The  Zulus  at  Home. 


and  the  more  daughters  the  more  cattle,  and  the  more  cattle  and  the  larger  the 
kraal,  the  greater  and  more  influential  the  man. 

Perhaps   you   can  now   realize  something  more    than   you    have   what   vour 
Christian,  civilized  homes  have  done  for  you.     Can  you  show  your  gratitude  in 


A    ZULU    CHIEF. 


any  better  way  than  by  sending  to  your  dark  brothers  and  sisters  in  Africa  the 
gospel  of  Christ,  which  has  been  the  one  power  in  the  world  to  turn  men  from 
darkness  to  light? 


SOME  ZULUS   I    HAVE  KNOWN. 

BY    REV.    JOSIAH   TYLER,    OF    NATAL,    SOUTH    AFRICA. 


Far  away  in  Africa,  on  the  borders  of  the  Zambesi  River,  are  a  people  called 
the  Matabele.  They  are  a  branch  of  the  Zulu  tribe  and  moved  from  Zululand 
a  century  ago.  You  can  read  of  their  king,  Mosilakatzi,  a  brave  but  despotic 
warrior,  in  the  first  volume  of  Wood's  "Uncivilized  Races  of  Man." 

Many  years  ago  Rev.  Robert  Moffat  visited  the  king  and  obtained  permission 
for  the  London  Missionary  Society  to  send  teachers  into  his  country.  For  nearly 
thirty  years  missionaries  have  been  working  there,  but  so  far  as  I  know  not  a 
single  individual  of  the  Matabele  nation  has  become  a  Christian.     They  still 


A  ZULU    KRAAL    IN    NATAL. 

cling  to  their  old  debasing  customs,  spirit-worship,  witchcraft,  polygamy,  and 
beer-drinking.  Some  two  years  ago,  Rev.  Mr.  Elliot,  an  English  missionary  in 
Matabele-land,  sent  an  urgent  appeal  to  the  mission  of  the  American  Board  in 
Natal  for  a  Zulu  Christian  minister  and  his  wife,  that  they  might  serve  as  an 
object-lesson  to  the  wild  Matabeles,  and  perhaps  impress  them  as  the  white 
workers  had  been  unable  to  do. 


22 


Some  Zulus  I  Have  Known. 


The  call  came  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  native  Christians  assembled  at 
Umzumbe  station  in  1887.  Eleven  volunteers  responded,  but  the  one  best 
adapted  to  the  work  seemed  to  be  Umcitwa.  A  few  years  before,  he  had  come 
to  Mr.  Bridgman  a  heathen  lad,  undressed  and  ignorant,  but  he  was  placed  under 
instruction,  and  after  a  while  became  "  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind  "  in  every 
sense.  Constant  Bible  study  made  him  a  power  among  his  own  people,  and  as 
assistant  in  the  Sunday-school  and  prominent  in  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
he  was  a  true  helper  and  a  comfort  to  his  missionary. 

One  of  the  girls  educated   at   the   Umzumbe    Home,  an   earnest   Christian 


>-■■  ^  /  J/K  A^i. 


UMCITWA   AND    YONA    WITH    THEIR    BABE. 

and  a  general  favorite,  who  had  been  a  ready  helper  in  daily  and  Sunday 
schools  and  as  a  Bible  reader,  became  Umcitwa's  wife.  I  wish  I  could  tell  you 
of  Yona's  strong  character,  perseverance,  and  faith.  When  the  call  came  to  go 
to  Matabele-land,  she  said,  "  It  is  a  joy  to  be  able  to  take  the  gospel  to  my 
people  living  in  darkness."  Few  of  you  can  realize  how  hard  it  was  for  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bridgman,  the  missionaries  at  Umzumbe,  to  lose  these  helpers  from  their 
own  station,  where  every  Christian  worker  is  so  much  needed.  But  it  was  God's 
work,  whether  in  Matabele-land  or  Natal,  and  they  cheerfully  helped  Umcitwa 
and  Yona  to  prepare  for  their  journey  of  500  miles,  much  of  which  must  be 
made  in  an  ox-wagon.  It  was  deemed  best  to  leave  their  little  girl,  two  years 
old,  with  Mrs.  Bridgman,  as  she  could  care  for  her  so  much  better  than  could  the 
father  and  mother  on  their  new  and  untried  mission.  The  baby,  a  few  weeks 
old,  they  took  with  them. 

The  trip  was  more  trying  than  was  anticipated.     Umcitwa  was  asked  to  drive 


S(>»it  Zulus  I  Have  Known. 


23 


a  large  ox-wagon,  a  task  for  whi<  h  he  was  physically  unable.  It  was  in  the  rainy 
season,  and  the  missionary's  wife  wrote,  "  The  wagon  Btuck  in  the  mud  si 

times,  four  poles  were  broken,  and   the  wagon  had   to  be  unloaded    and   lo 

again  six  or  seven  times,  and  altogether  we  had  a  most  miserable  time."    Poor 

Umdtwa  was  exposed  to  cold  and  rain,  and  it  was  not  strange  that  when  he 
reached  his  destination  he  had  an  attack  of  pneumonia.  He  just  managed  to 
build  a  small  house  and  began  to  preach,  but  Mr.  Elliot  wrote,  "He  only 
preached  once,  and  that  proved  too  much  for  him."  He  died  shortly  afterwards, 
and  Mrs.  Bridgman  wrote  :  "You  will  have  heard  of  Umcitwa's  death  away  up 
in  Matabele-land,  where  he  bore  faithful  witness  for  Christ  during  long  months  of 
weakness  and  suffering.  And  now  we  hear  that  poor  Yona  is  still  more  sorely 
bereft  in  the  loss  of  her  dear  baby,  who  followed  the  father  in  about  two  weeks. 


t7i  1  uiiu%  \ 


A     SOUTH     AFRICAN     WAGON. 


May  she  show  such  a  bright  example  of  faith  and  trust  and  resignation  to  God's 
will  that  those  dark-minded  people  may  be  impressed  with  the  power  and  bless- 
edness of  the  gospel,  and  may  yield  to  its  influence.  We  mourn  for  Umcitwa  as  a 
true  friend."  We  hope  that  Umcitwa's  death  will  not  deter  other  Zulu  Christians 
from  going  as  missionaries  to  Matabeledand,  where  they  are  so  much  needed. 

THE    FIRST    ORDAINED   ZULU    MINISTER. 

About  thirty  years  ago,  there  was  a  Zulu  lad  in  Natal,  South  Africa,  the 
servant  of  an  English  farmer,  who,  unlike  many  colonists,  loved  the  souls  of  the 
heathen  and  labored  for  their  salvation.  One  day  this  boy  was  leading  the  oxen 
attached  to  a  cart,  his  master  being  the  driver,  when  suddenly  the  weather  be- 
came cold  and  stormy.  Having  no  other  clothing  than  that  Zulu  lads  generally 
wear,  which  consisted  of  strips  of  cow's  hide  about  his  loins,  he  succumbed  to 
the  cold  —  dropped  the  thong  with  which  he  led  the  oxen,  closed  his  eyes,  and 
stood  motionless.  The  sympathetic  farmer  immediately  took  off  his  own  great- 
coat and  put  it  on  the  lad,  together  with  some  bags  he  found  in  the  cart.  For- 
tunately a  kraal  was  near,  at  which  he  stopped,  and,  taking  the  boy  in  his  arms, 
he  carried  him  into  a  hut.     He  then  laid  himself  down  by  his  side  ;  stretched  out 


24 


Some  Zulus  I  Have  Known. 


his  broad  arms  and  drew  him  close  to  his  warm,  strong  heart.  There  he  kept 
him  till  the  lad  revived,  opened  his  eyes,  and  began  to  speak.  Years  afterward 
that  Zulu  lad  said  to  the  farmer,  "  Sir,  tell  me  what  it  was  that  made  your  heart 
so  warm  towards  me,  and  brought  me  back  from  death."  And  then  the  good 
farmer,  with  a  heart  as  warm  as  ever,  told  the  young  man  the  story  of  Jesus  and 
his  love.  That  story  warmed  the  Zulu's  heart,  and  he  soon  became  a  Christian. 
He  attached  himself  to  Rev.  H.  M.  Bridgman,  of  the  Umzumbe  mission  station, 
was  educated,  and,  when  baptized,  received  the  name  Rufus  Anderson.  The 
farmer,  his  spiritual  father,  has  lately  gone  to  the  better  land,  but  while  living 
never  ceased  to  thank  God  that  he  was  made  instrumental  in  saving  both  the 
body  and  soul  of  the  first  ordained  Zulu  minister. 

UNDINIZULU,    THE   ZULU    PRINCE. 

When  in  1869  I  visited  the 
kraal  of  Cetywayo,  the  old  king 
of  the  Zulus,  he  was  just  about 
marrying  his  fifteenth  wife.  A 
little  boy  was  pointed  out  to  me 
as  the  king's  only  son,  and  I  sup- 
pose it  was  Undinizulu,  who  now, 
after  trial  by  the  English  govern- 
ment, has  been  sentenced  as  a 
prisoner  to  the  island  of  St. 
Helena  for  ten  years  of  hard 
labor.  Cetywayo  was  captured 
by  the  British  and  taken  to  Eng- 
land, but  was  subsequently  re- 
undinizulu.  stored  to  his  own  country.     He 

there  died  quite  suddenly,  and  it  is  commonly  believed  that  he  was  poisoned  by 
Usibepu,  a  chief  with  whom  he  had  had  a  bitter  quarrel.  His  son,  Dininzulu, 
in  his  determination  to  avenge  his  father's  death,  made  war  against  Usibepu, 
despite  the  warnings  of  the  British  officials.  In  the  rebellion  which  he  incited 
he  was  defeated,  and  after  trial  was  sentenced  to  exile  and  hard  labor.  He  never 
came  under  the  influence  of  the  gospel,  and  refused  to  heed  the  counsels  of  the 
white  men  who  sought  his  welfare  and  the  welfare  of  his  people. 

The  picture  here  given  is  from  a  photograph  in  which  the  prince  appears  in 
Zulu  garb,  which  consists  of  nothing  but  a  necklace,  which  is  shown  in  the  cut, 
and  a  strip  about  the  loins.  How  different  might  have  been  his  career  had  he, 
or  his  father  before  him,  heeded  the  instructions  of  those  who  came  to  bring 
them  the  good  tidings  from  on  High  ! 


SOME  ZULU   KRAAL  GIRLS. 

BY   REV.    FREDERICK    R.    BUNKER,    OF   AMANZIMTOTE,    NATAL. 


Let  me  introduce  to  you  one  of  the  girls  who  has  come  from  a  Zulu  kraal. 
Her  name  is  Senaye.  See  how  tastefully  and  modestly  she  is  dressed.  Notice 
how  bright  and  pretty  she  is  as  she  greets  us.  And  she  is  as  good  as  she  is 
pretty.  She  came  when  a  little  girl  to  Mrs.  Ireland,  a  runaway  from  a  heathen 
home.  Her  people  were  terribly  angry  when  they  came  to  take  her  back  home. 
She  refused  to  go  with  them  and  was  for  many  years  with  Mrs.  Ireland,  a  true, 


MRS.  IRELAND'S    KRAAL  GIRLS   AT  AMANZIMTOTE. 


consistent  Christian  girl  of  great  promise.  She  is  now  working  in  Durban,  a 
member  of  the  church,  and  leading  a  good  life.  I  went  with  Mr.  Ransom  to 
her  old  home  a  short  time  since.  A  woman  had  just  died  a  Christian  death  in  the 
kraal  and  had  requested  to  be  buried  in  a  Christian  way.  We  saw  a  number  of 
dressed  men  and  girls  there.  I  asked  who  they  were  and  found  them  to  be 
people  who  had  been  led  by  Senaye's  influence  to  give  up  heathenism  and  be- 
come Christians.  Her  brother  is  an  earnest  Christian  man.  Several  girls  from 
that  kraal  are  now  in  school  here,  with  the  consent  of  their  friends,  and  when 


26 


Some  Zulu  Kraal  Girls. 


the  gospel  was  preached  that  day  it  was  listened  to  with  great  respect  by  all. 
Yet  but  a  short  time  since  all  these  people  hated  the  missionaries,  and  it  was  not 
safe  to  let  Senaye  go  home  lest  she  should  suffer  violence  or  be  stolen  away  by 
her  people.  Since  we  came  to  Africa  in  1891  she  began  to  go  there  and  read 
the  Bible  to  them  and  pray  with  them,  and  this  is  the  result. 

Now  see  this  group  of  men  coming  up  to  a  schoolhouse.  From  a  fashion- 
able point  of  view  they  are  a  disreputable  crowd.  Slouch  hats,  ragged  coats, 
trousers  too  long  or  too  short,  and  barefooted.  Some  are  well  dressed,  but  all 
evidently  poor.  Who  are  they?  Station  preachers;  men  who  work  all  the 
week  and  go  out  to  preach  on  Sunday.  They  are  a  great  power  among  their 
own  people.  They  have  come  to  the  missionary  to  get  some  instruction  for  their 
talks  to  the  people.  They  tell  me  that  though  some  of  them  have  lived  many 
years  on  the  station  they  have  never  seen  so  many  turning  to  the  Lord  from 


THE   THEOLOGICAL   STUDENTS   AT   AMANZIMTOTE. 


among  the  heathen  as  at  present.  They  say  that  it  is  the  work  of  no  missionary 
or  preacher,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  seems  to  have  gone  before  the  preachers  and 
made  the  people  anxious  to  hear  the  truth. 

About  three  years  ago  Mrs.  Ireland  went  home  from  church  one  Sunday  and 
found  two  little  kraal  girls  on  her  veranda  waiting  for  her.  She  asked  what  they 
wanted,  and  they  said  that  they  had  heard  from  Senaye,  of  whom  I  have  written 
above,  that  there  was  a  day  of  reckoning  for  their  sins,  and  they  had  come  to 
learn  how  to  get  ready  for  it. 

They  were  taken  in  and  clothed,  and  as  usual  the  parents  came  the  next  day 
to  take  them  home.  It  is  the  custom  of  the  missionaries,  in  which  they  are 
sustained  by  the  English  law,  to  protect  any  girls  who  run  away  from  polygamous 
marriage  from  the  personal  violence  of  their  pursuers.  We  give  the  parents  or 
friends  full  liberty  to  persuade  the  girls  to  return,  and  if  they  consent,  put  no 


Some  Zulu  Kraal  Girls. 

obstacle  in  their  way  to  return.  Many  of  them  do  return  home.  But  if  they 
insist  on  staying  we  protect  them  in  our  houses.  These  two  little  girl--  R: 
to  go,  and  the  parents  spent  hours  in  trying  to  get  them  to  go,  but  in  vain.  'I  he- 
parents  were  fearfully  angry.  The  little  things,  not  realizing  the  protection  of 
the  Englishman's  "  castle,"  and  thinking  that  they  would  be  safer  hiding  in  the 
bushes,  ran  out  of  the  door  when  the  missionaries  did  not  see  them,  and  ran  for 
the  bushes.  Their  people  spied  them  and  gave  chase,  capturing  one  and  taking 
her  home.     The  other  escaped  and  returned  under  cover  of  night. 

A  few  days  after  she  was  working  in  the  garden  when  Mrs.  Ransom  saw  a  man 
spring  out  of  the  bushes  and  drag  her  off.  Mr.  Ransom  sprang  on  his  horse  and 
gave  chase.  The  man  proved  to  be  her  father.  He  made  his  escape  with  her 
across  the  river  and  hid  in  a  deep  bushy  ravine  into  which  Mr.  Ransom  could 
not  go  with  his  horse.  Some  station  men  then  came  up  and  pretty  soon  the 
man  came  out  holding  in  one  hand  the  girl,  from  whom  he  in  rage  had  stripped 
her  clothes,  and  brandishing  his  sticks  in  the  other  hand.  The  men  made  feints 
to  attack  him,  and  in  his  confusion  he  let  the  girl  slip  from  his  grasp,  when  two 
men  caught  her  and  ran  with  her,  while  Mr.  Ransom  kept  in  front  of  the  man, 
hindering  him  in  his  pursuit.  He  was  wild  with  rage,  fairly  foaming  at  the 
mouth.  The  girl  was  taken  to  the  house,  and  after  a  time  the  father  appeared 
again  asking  for  her.  He  was  permitted  to  do  all  he  could  to  persuade  her  to 
go  with  him,  but  she  refused.  He  raged  and  cried  and  pleaded  in  turn,  but  she 
would  not  yield.  He  then  went  home  and  she  remained  here  for  some  time  and 
then  was  sent  to  Umzumbe.     She  has  developed  finely,  and  is  a  true  Christian. 

Last  vacation  she  was  permitted  to  go  home,  with  her  father's  promise  that 
she  should  return  to  school.  When  the  time  came  he  refused  to  let  her  go,  but 
she  escaped,  and  though  he  lay  in  wait  for  her  on  the  road  she  reached  the 
school.  This  vacation  we  were  afraid  to  let  her  go  home,  and  she  stayed  here 
with  us  for  a  time  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ransom,  who  have  charge  of 
her.  We  soon  learned  to  love  her.  When  the  other  girls  from  Umzumbe 
reached  home,  and  Umkamambedu  did  not  appear,  her  father  was  very  angry 
and  came  here  to  learn  the  reason.  We  told  him  that  we  were  afraid  that  he 
would  not  let  her  go  to  school  again ;  that  he  broke  his  promise  before,  and  we 
did  not  trust  him  now.  He  was  angry,  but  promised  very  earnestly  that  he  would 
let  her  return.  She  believed  him  and  wanted  to  go,  so  that  we  consented,  and 
she  went  off  with  him,  expecting  to  come  back  in  three  days.  She  told  the  girls 
that  she  wanted  to  go  to  tell  her  people  about  Jesus.  She  had  been  very  active 
in  teaching  the  girls  in  the  school  here  to  recite  verses  in  the  Bible.  The  time 
came  for  her  return  and  she  did  not  come.  We  feared  that  she  was  detained. 
In  the  afternoon  a  woman  came  to  tell  us  that  the  girl  had  got  within  a  half  mile 
of  the  station  when  her  father  caught  her  and  took  her  back  home,  beating  her 
all  the  way.  This  morning  her  story  was  told  in  the  prayer-meeting,  and  the 
people  prayed  very  earnestly  for  her  deliverance.  But  we  all  felt  that  she  would 
be  so  carefully  watched  that  she  would  not  get  away  for  some  time  at  least.  She 
is  coming  to  an  age  when  her  father  will  be  making  arrangements  to  sell  her,  and 
he  would  take  extra  precaution  to  keep  her.  What  was  our  surprise  this  after- 
noon when  she  came  safely  to  the  station  ! 

Her  story  is  this.     When  she  reached  home  all  the  people  began  to  try  to  get 


28  Some  Zulu  Kraal  Girls. 

her  to  take  off  her  clothes  and  put  on  heathen  dress.  They  gave  her  no  peace 
until  she  saw  that  they  did  not  intend  that  she  should  come  back.  So  when 
the  time  came  for  her  to  return,  she  ran  away  and  nearly  reached  here  when 
her  father  caught  her.  He  beat  her  all  the  way  back.  He  would  say,  "  Do  you 
love  Jesus?  "  and  she  would  say,  "  Yes,"  and  he  would  beat  her.  Again  the  same 
question  and  answer,  and  the  beating  was  repeated  many  times  before  they 
reached  home.  When  they  reached  home  they  tore  off  her  clothes  and  made 
her  drink  large  quantities  of  water  to  make  her  vomit.  The  reason  for  this 
drinking  of  water  was  to  make  her  "  throw  up  Jesus  from  her  heart."  It  is  a 
common  custom  for  them,  when  any  one  has  stolen  food,  for  all  of  them  to  drink 
water  until  the  thief  is  revealed.  They  thought  they  would  try  to  dislodge  the 
thief  who  had  stolen  Umkamambedu's  heart.  They  may  have  thought  that  they 
had  accomplished  their  purpose  and  did  not  watch  as  carefully  as  they  would 


THE    KRAAL   GlRLS'    HOWIE    AT   AMANZI MTOTE. 


otherwise,  or  she  may  have  deceived  them  about  her  intentions.  But  having 
gone  to  the  spring  for  water  she  took  the  opportunity  and  fled.  The  alarm  was 
given  and  her  father  followed  her.  He  had  almost  overtaken  her  when  she 
stumbled  and  fell.  She  crawled  from  the  path  out  into  the  tall  grass  and  bushes, 
and  he  went  running  by  without  observing  her,  though  she  was  not  two  paces 
from  him.  When  he  had  passed  she  got  up  and  followed  him  and  reached  here 
safely.  He  is  probably  lying  in  the  bushes  near  here  now,  hoping  to  intercept 
her.  Poor  child  !  she  was  trembling  and  crying  when  she  arrived.  We  took  her 
into  the  house  after  she  had  been  clothed  in  the  Girls'  School,  and  the  smiles 
broke  out  over  her  face,  and  she  looked  a  real  victor  after  a  hard-fought  battle. 
Will  you  not  pray  that  God  will  throw  his  protection  about  these  poor  chil- 
dren and  bring  deliverance  to  oppressed  womanhood  in  this  land  ?  Such  cases 
are  always  on  hand  with  us. 


THE  HERO  OF  UGANDA. 


On  that  morning  of  September,  1889,  when  the  Emin  Relief  Expedition  left 
the  English  mission  station  at  Usambiro,  south  of  Victoria  Nyanza,  refreshed 
by  three  weeks  of  rest  and  comfort,  they  turned  for  a  glance  backward  at  a 
lonely  figure  standing  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  and  waving  them  farewell.  It  was 
Alexander  Mackay,  whom  Stanley  calls  "  the  best  missionary  since  Livingstone." 
Picture  to  yourselves  a  slight,  fair-haired  Scotchman  of  forty  years,  with  '•  a  hand- 
some, good,  and  clever  face,  and  with  calm,  blue  eyes  that  never  winked,"  writes 
Stanley,  though  the  heathen  king  had  strangled  his  pupils,  burned  his  converts, 
and  "  turned  his  eye  of  death 
on  him."  Fourteen  years 
Mackay  had  borne  in  savage 
Africa  the  hardships  of  a  mis- 
sionary pioneer :  a  part  of 
the  time  the  only  white  man 
in  the  region.  Stanley  now 
strongly  but  vainly  urged  him 
to  leave  for  a  while,  and  the 
Church  Missionary  Society 
advised  the  same. 

Mackay  replied  :  "  What  is 
this  you  write,  '  Come  home '  ? 
Surely  now,  in  our  terrible 
dearth  of  workers,  it  is  not 
the  time  for  any  one  to  desert 
his  post.  Send  us  only  our 
first  twenty  men  and  I  may 
be  tempted  to  come  to  help 
you  find  the  second  twenty."  Alexander  mackay. 

Mackay  was  born  at  Rhynie,  Aberdeenshire,  October  13,  1849,  tlie  son  of  a 
Free  Church  minister.  Plain  living,  high  thinking,  and  practical  godliness  were 
his  birthright.  At  three  years  he  read  fluently  ;  at  seven,  histories  were  his  text- 
books. Until  fourteen  he  received  all  his  training  from  his  learned  father,  whose 
guests  and  correspondents  were  such  men  as  Hugh  Miller  and  Sir  Roderick 
Murchison.  The  boy's  mind  developed  rapidly,  but  at  eleven  he  almost  dis- 
carded books  for  the  garden,  the  glebe,  and  the  pony      He  also  haunted  the 

29 


3°  The  Hero  of  Uganda. 

mills  and  the  workshops  of  Rhynie,  studying  all  manner  of  machinery.  But  at 
thirteen  he  voluntarily  returned  to  his  books,  entered  school  at  Glasgow,  grad- 
uated at  a  Teachers'  Training  College  in  Edinburgh  as  one  of  its  ablest  students, 
and  afterwards  spent  six  years  in  the  most  thorough  training  for  his  chosen  pro- 
fession of  engineering.  He  was  a  sincere  and  devoted  Christian,  and  hearing 
that  the  Church  Missionary  Society  wished  for  a  layman  for  Africa,  he  went  out 
in  1876,  declining  the  most  pressing  and  tempting  business  offers.  He  said, 
"  Many  a  better  man  than  I  has  gone  to  heathen  countries  before  now ;  why 
should  not  I  go  too  ?  It  is  not  to  make  money  that  I  believe  a  Christian  should 
live." 

His  first  work  in  Africa  was  to  build  "  the  white  man's  big  road,"  230  miles 
long,  from  the  coast  opposite  Zanzibar  to  Mpwapwa.  After  two  years  of  fevers, 
toils,  and  trials,  he  reached  Victoria  Nyanza  to  find  the  missionary  party 
which  had  gone  on  before  him  all  dead.  Their  stores  lay  about  in  desperate 
confusion,  but  in  ten  days  Mackay  had  put  together  the  little  steamer  they  had 
carried  inland,  and  with  three  missionaries  who  now  joined  him  he  set  out  for 
Uganda,  across  the  lake.  They  were  shipwrecked  !  They  made  a  tent  out  of  a 
sail ;  and  Mackay  cut  out  the  middle  of  the  broken  boat,  joined  both  ends 
together  and  started  again,  this  time  reaching  Uganda. 

They  found  a  lovely  country,  basking  in  perpetual  summer ;  the  mercury  being 
about  6o°  Fahr.  by  night  and  8o°  by  day.  The  people  were  bright,  cleanly,  and 
active,  and  King  Mtesa  was  friendly.  Then  followed  years  of  patient  language- 
study,  translation,  and  teaching,  varied  by  hard  labor  with  forge  and  anvil, 
grindstone,  lathe,  and  printing-press.  The  natives  looked  on  in  amazement 
at  the  feats  of  Mackay's  engineering  skill  and  listened  the  more  willingly  to  his 
earnest  offers  of  the  great  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ. 

In  1 88 1  there  had  been  great  want  of  water  at  Mtesa's ;  the  people  obtaining 
only  a  scanty  supply  from  a  hole  in  the  earth.  By  the  use  of  his  theodolite, 
Mackay  calculated  that  he  could  obtain  water  there  at  a  depth  of  only  sixteen 
feet.  He  set  men  at  work  and  reached  water  at  just  that  depth.  The  natives 
had  never  seen  a  deep  well  before,  and  would  not  believe  that  water  could  be  had 
on  a  hillside  till  Mackay  put  in  a  pump  brought  from  London  and  they  saw  a 
full  stream  ascend  twenty  feet  high,  and  flow  and  flow  as  long  as  one  worked  the 
handle.  Their  wonder  knew  no  bounds.  "  Mackay  is  the  Great  Spirit !  "  they 
cried  ;  "truly  he  is  the  Great  Spirit  !  "  He  explained  that  the  pump  was  only  a 
sort  of  elephant's  trunk  made  of  copper,  or  like  a  beer-drinking  tube  with  an 
iron  tongue,  that  sucked  up  the  water  as  their  tongues  sucked  up  beer  through 
their  gourds. 

Mtesa  was  fickle  ;  now  listening  attentively  to  Mackay's  Sunday  Bible-reading 
and  preaching,  and  then  relapsing  into  spirit-worship  and  the  wildest  wickedness. 
His  vices  and  cruelties  and  those  of  his  son  Mwanga,  who  succeeded  him  in 
1884,  were  appalling.  Every  day  a  wanton  slaughter  of  human  beings  went  on, 
and  at  times  there  was  a  general  massacre,  2,000  victims  being  butchered  at 
once,  with  every  ingenuity  of  torture. 

All  this  while,  hosts  of  people  came  to  the  missionaries  for  instruction  and 
learned  to  read  from  portions  of  the  Bible  printed  on  single  sheets.     Five  of  the 


The  Hero  of  Uganda. 


3' 


first  converts  were-  baptized  in  i88a,  tour  years  after  the  commencement  of  the 

mission.    Their  number  increased  without  opposition  as  long  as  Mtesa  lived,  but 
m  1885,  under  Mwanga's  weaker  yet  more  cruel  reign,  the  Christians  began  to 

win    the    martyr's  Crown,  being   first   tortured   and    then    roasted    alive.      M 
suffered  much  personal  violence,  and,  after  Bishop  II annington  was  murdered  on 


a  village;   in   east   central  afr.ca. 


the  way  to  Uganda,  a  plot  was  "laid  to  kill  all  the  missionaries.  It  failed,  but  the 
natives  were  forbidden  on  pain  of  death  to  come  near  the  white  men,  and  came 
only  by  stealth  at  night.  In  1886  Mwanga  killed  thirty  Christians  and  sen- 
tenced forty  more,  and  the  missionaries  every  moment  expected  their  own  arrest. 
Finally  Messrs.  O'Flaherty  and  Ashe  were  allowed  to  leave,  but  Mackay  was 
kept  alone  for  eleven  months  longer.  Well  for  him  that  "  he  always  looked  fear- 
lessly forth  and  seemed  ever  to  see  the  face  of  the  living  God  "       At  length,  in 


32 


The  Hero  of  Uganda. 


July,  1887,  Mwanga  sent  him,  too,  away.  He  went  to  Usambiro,  where  with 
others  he  carried  on  the  same  great  work,  "  now  with  book  in  hand,  now  with 
hammer  and  tongs."  He  wrote  home,  "  Duty  before  pleasure,  they  say  •  but  my 
duty  is  a  pleasure."  There  on  the  eighth  of  February,  1890,  he  rested  from 
his  labors,  after  a  few  days'  illness  from  malarial  fever.  Twenty-five  Uganda 
Christians  had  followed  him  to  Usambiro,  and  2,500  had  settled  in  Ankoli, 
west  of  Victoria  Nyanza.  There  Stanley  saw  them  on  his  way  to  the  sea, 
"a  nice,  cleanly  dressed,  sober,  and  independent  people."  "They  told  us," 
says  Stanley,  "  the  wonderful  story  of  the  deposition  of  Mwanga  and  the  growth 
of  the    Christian    mission.     It    was   most   graphic,    most   beautiful.  .  .  .  Such 


TRAVELING     IN     AFRICA. 


fortitude,  such  bravery,  such  courage.  ...  I  was  carried  back  to  the  days  of 
Nero  and  Caligula,  how  they  persecuted  the  Christians  at  Rome.  .  .  .  Really 
there  were  instances  here  of  equal  courage,  of  equal  faith.  ...  I  suppose  that 
the  railway  will  be  down  there  in  five  years,  and  that  Uganda  will  be  connected 
with  the  sea,  and  I  am  quite  sure  the  time  will  come  when  very  many  will  seek 
those  tropical  paradises  of  Uganda  simply  for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  such  a  nice 
country  and  its  interesting  people,  made  still  more  interesting  by  the  religion 
they  profess."  Who  now  but  says  that  Mackay's  short  life  was  a  glorious  suc- 
cess !  His  name  is  a  household  word  wherever  his  Master's  cause  is  dear.  A 
burst  of  enthusiastic  admiration  and  deepest  sorrow  was  called  forth  by 
tidings  of  his  death,  from  all  branches  of  the  Church  on  earth,  and  in  heaven 
his  reward  is  inconceivable  and  eternal. 


AFRICANER. 


Africaner  was  a  Hottentot  who,  before  the  arrival  of  the  Dutch  in  South 
Africa,  had  pastured  his  flocks,  hunted  his  game,  and  lived  his  life  of  savage 
luxury  on  his  own  lands  near  Cape  Town.  When  the  Dutch  came  they  took 
possession  of  his  land  and  made  him  a  subject,  after  a  custom  only  too  common 
to  civilized  nations  in  their  greed 
for  territory.  Africaner  and  his 
people  were  starved,  beaten,  and 
robbed  till  they  could  endure  it 
no  longer.  They  demanded 
better  treatment  and  agreed  on 
a  conference ;  but  one  of  the 
natives,  against  the  wishes  of  the 
leaders,  killed  a  Dutchman  and 
that  brought  matters  to  a  crisis. 

Africaner  was  declared  an  out- 
law and  a  reward  was  offered 
for  his  capture.  He  withdrew 
with  the  remnants  of  his  tribe  to 
Mamaqualand  and  there  began 
a  series  of  wars  upon  natives 
and  foreigners  alike.  He  robbed 
and  burned  the  settlements  and 
murdered  the  farmers  until  his 
very  name  struck  terror  wherever 
it  was  heard. 

Not  far  from  Africaner's  kraal  the  English  established  a  mission,  although  the 
proximity  of  the  notable  robber  added  not  a  little  to  their  anxieties.  Strange  to 
say,  he  received  them  kindly  at  first,  saying,  "  As  you  are  sent  by  the  English,  I 
welcome  you  to  the  country ;  for,  though  I  hate  the  Dutch,  my  former  oppres- 
sors, I  love  the  English,  for  I  have  always  heard  that  they  are  the  friends  of  the 
poor  black  man." 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Africaner  first  heard  the  gospel,  and  he  afterward  said 
that  he  then  saw  "  men  as  trees  walking." 

Troubles  came,  however.  The  wisest  of  the  missionaries  died  and  Africaner 
was  led  to  believe  that  another  had  treated  him  unjustly.  The  savage  spirit 
broke  forth  again  and,  calling  his  followers  together,  he  attacked  the  mission 
station,  burned  the  houses  and  carried  off  everything  of  value. 

The  mission  was  for  the  time  given  up,  but  later  reopened,  and  in   1817  that 

33 


AFRICANER. 


34 


Africaner. 


noble  worker,  Robert  Moffat,  arrived  at  Africaner's  kraal.  The  chief  soon 
appeared  and  welcomed  the  missionary,  ordering  the  women  to  build  a  hut  for 
him.  Tri  spite  of  this,  the  outlook  at  first  was  far  from  encouraging,  and  it  is 
a  high  tribute  to  the  wisdom  and  the  consecrated  zeal  of  Moffat  that  he  so  soon 
won  the  confidence  of  the  people  among  whom  he  settled.     Africaner  began  to 


come  to  the  services,  and  his  regularity  was  finally  such  that  Moffat  says,  "  1 
might  as  well  doubt  of  morning's  dawn  as  of  his  attendance  on  the  appointed 
means  of  grace."  He  had  learned  to  read  and  spent  his  day  over  his  Testa- 
ment, and  in  the  evening  he  would  sit  with  Moffat  on  a  great  stone  near  the 
station  and  talk  on  creation,  providence,  and  redemption  until  he  would  say,  "  I 
have  heard  enough  ;  I  feel  as  if  my  head  were  too  small  and  as  if  it  would  swell 
with  these  great  subjects." 


Africaner*  35 

Moffat  hears  this  wonderful  testimony  of  his  character.  "During  the  whole 
period  I  lived  there,  I  do  not  remember  having  occasion  to  be  grieved  with  him 
or  to  complain  of  any  part  of  his  conduct;  his  very  faults  seemed  'to  lean  to 
virtue's  side.'  He  zealously  seconded  my  efforts  to  improve  the  people  in 
cleanliness  and  industry,  m\k\  he  who  was  formerly  a  firebrand,  spreading  dis- 
cord, enmity,  and  war  among  the  neighboring  tribes,  would  now  make  any  sacri- 
fice to  prevent  anything  like  a  collision  between  two  contending  parties,  sayiny, 
'What  have  I  now  of  all  the  battles  I  have  fought,  and  all  the  cattle  I  took,  but 
shame  and  remorse?  '  " 

After  several  months'  work  in  Mamaqualand  Moffat  found  it  necessary  to  visit 
Cape  Town,  and  it  occurred  to  him  to  take  Africaner  with  him.  At  first  the 
chief  refused  to  go,  for  he  was  an  outlaw  and  feared  the  consequences,  but 
finally  consented,  if  his  safety  could  be  assured.  The  English  at  Cape  Town 
had  invited  him  down  several  times  and  promised  him  entire  freedom,  but  it  was 
a  question  whether  he  could  get  safely  through  the  territory  of  the  Dutch  farm- 
ers. Finally,  attired  in  one  of  the  only  two  substantial  shirts  Moffat  had  left, 
a  pair  of  leather  trousers,  a  duffel  jacket,  and  an  old  hat,  neither  white  nor 
black,  the  attempt  was  made,  the  chief  passing  as  one  of  the  missionary's 
servants. 

The  Dutch  farmers  were  very  hospitable  to  Moffat,  and  many  congratulated 
him  on  getting  out  alive  from  Africaner's  land,  for  they  could  not  believe  that 
this  robber  and  murderer  could  be  living  a  peaceful  and  law-abiding  life.  As 
they  approached  one  settlement,  Moffat,  meeting  a  farmer,  whom  he  had  seen. 
before,  held  out  his  hand  to  him. 

"  Who  are  you?  "  said  the  farmer. 

"  Moffat,"  replied  the  missionary. 

"  Moffat !  "  exclaimed  the  Boer.  "  It  is  your  ghost !  Don't  come  near  me. 
You  have  been  long  since  murdered  by  Africaner.  Everyone  says  you  have  been, 
and  a  man  told  me  he  had  seen  your  bones."  When  Moffat  declared  that  he 
believed  Africaner  was  a  truly  good  man,  the  farmer  said  :  "  If  what  you  assert 
be  true,  I  have  only  one  wish,  and  that  is  to  see  him  before  I  die ;  and  when  you 
return,  as  sure  as  the  sun  is  over  our  heads,  I  will  go  with  you  to  see  him,  though 
he  killed  my  own  uncle."  Moffat,  knowing  the  Boer  was  a  sincere  and  discreet 
man,  turned  toward  the  wagon  where  the  chief  was  riding  and  said  :  "  This,  then, 
is  Africaner."  The  Boer,  with  a  look  as  though  the  man  might  have  dropped 
from  the  clouds,  exclaimed  :  "  Are  you  Africaner?  "  Africaner  arose,  doffed  his 
old  hat,  and,  making  a  polite  bow,  replied  :  "  I  am."  The  farmer  seemed 
thunderstruck,  but  on  realizing  the  fact,  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  said  :  "  O  God  ! 
what  a  miracle  of  thy  power  !  what  cannot  thy  grace  accomplish  !  " 

Africaner's  appearance  in  Cape  Town  excited  considerable  attention  and 
served  as  a  striking  witness  of  the  usefulness  of  missions  from  a  merely  political 
point  of  view.  All  were  struck  by  his  peaceful  and  gentle  manner  and  his  great 
knowledge  of  the  gospel.  While  Moffat  was  in  Cape  Town  it  was  decided  to 
change  his  station,  so  that  it  was  necessary  for  Africaner  to  return  alone.  This 
he  cheerfully  did,  expecting  to  move  his  residence  so  as  to  be  near  his  friend  ; 
but  this  was  destined  never  to  happen,  although  he  met  Mr.  Moffat  for  a  few 
days  about  a  year  later. 


36 


Africaner. 


In  March,  1823,  Africaner  died.  When  he  felt  that  the  end  was  coming  he 
collected  his  people  and  spoke  these  final  words  :  "  We  are  not  what  we  were  — 
savages,  but  men  professing  to  be  taught  according  to  the  gospel.     Let  us  then 


mt 


j^sarz^ 


do  accordingly.  My  former  life  is  stained  with  blood  ;  but  Jesus  Christ  has 
pardoned  me,  and  I  am  going  to  heaven.  Oh  !  beware  of  falling  into  the  same 
evils  into  which  I  have  led  you  frequently  ;  but  seek  God  and  he  will  be  found 
of  you  to  direct  you." 


A  MARTYR  IN  AFRICA. 


On  the  thirty-first  of  October,  1885,  Bishop  Hannington,  of  the  English  Church 
Missionary  Society,  was  killed  at  Unyalla,  on  the  northeast  shore  of  Lake  Nyanza. 
This  was  done  by  the  orders  of  Mwanga,  the  young  king  of  Uganda,  son  and 
successor  of  Mtesa.  Bishop  Hannington  was  trying  a  shorter  route  from  the 
coast  to  Uganda,  starting  inland  from  Mombasa.  The  journey  had  hitherto 
been  made  from 
Zanzibar  by  way  of 
Mpwapwa,  and  had 
occ upied  three 
months.  To  the 
bishop's  adventurous 
spirit  it  was  no  ob- 
jection that  the  new 
way  was  compara- 
tively unknown  and 
dang  erous.  From 
his  boyhood  he  had 
delighted  to  do  and 
dare  the  most  diffi- 
cult things.  The 
accompanying  like- 
ness of  him  is  from 
The  Church  Mission- 
ary Quarterly  Token, 
and  indicates  a 
stron  g  1  y  marked 
character. 

James  Hannington 
was  born  in  1 84 7,  and 
spent  much  of  his 
early     life    with    his 

parents  on  board  their  yacht.  He  was  a  high-spirited  and  generous  boy,  of  line 
abilities,  but  too  frolicsome  to  be  industrious.  At  fifteen  he  left  school  for  busi- 
ness. This  he  tried  for  six  years,  still  living  on  board  the  yacht  at  Portsmouth 
and  going  daily  to  Brighton.  He  took  many  long  yachting  holidays,  and  made 
land  journeys  also,  till  he  could  say  that  he  had  seen  every  capital  in  Europe 
except  two.     In  1S68  he  entered  college  at  Oxford,  with  a  view  to  studying  for 


BISHOP   HANNINGTON. 


38  A  Martyr  in  Africa. 

the  life  of  a  clergyman.  Here,  says  one  of  his  friends,  who  has  given  his  recol- 
lections in  The  Church  Missionary  Intelligencer,  "  he  frolicked,  colt-like,  across 
the  green  pastures  of  undergraduate  life.  When  he  laughed,  the  spirit  of  laugh- 
ter took  full  possession  of  him.  It  was  contagious,  he  so  evidently  enjoyed  it ; 
it  came  welling  up  with  such  wild,  uncontrollable  waves."  At  this  time  he  was  a 
tall  young  fellow  of  twenty-one,  of  pliable  figure,  with  clear  gray  eyes  which 
twinkled  with  latent  fun  under  deep-set,  projecting  brows,  and  with  a  mouth  the 
pouting  lips  of  which  seemed  half-humorously  to  protest  against  life  in  general. 

"  Jim,"  as  he  was  called,  became  at  once  the  fashion.  He  was  the  most  popu- 
lar freshman  of  his  year,  and  was  received  into  the  best  set.  He  became  cap- 
tain of  the  "  Eight,"  and  president  of  the  "  Red  Club."  He  had  such  personal 
courage  that  danger  offered  a  positive  attraction  to  him.  In  riding  he  would 
select  the  most  break-neck  places,  and  in  canoeing  a  flooded  country  he  always 
sought  the  most  dangerous  rapids.  Those  who  knew  him  would  not  be  at  all 
incredulous  as  to  the  extraordinary  lion  story  he  told  after  his  first  missionary  jour- 
ney in  Central  Africa.  It  is  given,  with  other  facts,  as  follows,  in  The  Church 
Missionary  Intellige7icer  for  April,  1886  :  — 

"  At  about  a  mile  from  camp  he  saw  some  animal  moving  through  the  dense 
mimosa  scrub,  and,  firing,  killed  it.  His  prey  proved  to  be  a  large  lion's  cub. 
The  gun-bearer,  seeing  this,  fled  with  every  sign  of  terro-r,  and  shouted  to  him  to 
do  the  same.  It  was  time  indeed  to  do  so.  The  cries  of  '  Run,  Bwana,  run  ! ' 
were  accentuated  by  a  double  roar,  and,  looking  round,  Hannington  saw  the 
bereaved  parents,  a  fine  lion  and  lioness,  coming  toward  him  with  long,  bound- 
ing leaps  over  the  scrub.  An  ordinary  man,  encountering  lions  for  the  first  time, 
would  probably  have  lost  all  presence  of  mind,  and,  turning  to  run,  have  been 
inevitably  destroyed.  He  deliberately  faced  round  upon  his  enemy.  The 
enraged  lions  were  distant  but  a  few  paces,  but  they  suddenly  checked,  and 
both  stood  as  though  transfixed,  glaring  upon  him.  So  they  remained  for  some 
time,  till  Hannington,  placing  one  foot  behind  the  other,  and  still  keeping  his 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  yellow  orbs  before  him,  gradually  increased  his  distance,  and 
having  placed  about  a  hundred  yards  between  himself  and  the  monsters,  quietly 
walked  away.  But  the  indomitable  nature  of  the  man  comes  out  more  strongly 
in  what  followed.  Most  men  would  have  concluded  that  they  had  had  enough 
of  such  an  adventure,  and  have  accepted  their  escape  from  the  jaws  of  death; 
or  at  least  would  not  have  renewed  the  contest  without  assistance.  Hannington 
was  formed  of  quite  another  metal.  He  determined  that  he  would  return  and 
secure  the  skin  of  the  cub  he  had  killed.  So  he  retraced  his  steps.  When  near 
enough  to  observe  their  motions,  he  could  see  that  the  lion  and  lioness  were 
walking  round  about  their  cub,  licking  its  body,  and  filling  the  air  with  low 
growlings.  At  this  moment  an  unknown  flower  caught  his  eye.  He  plucked 
it,  took  out  his  note-book,  pressed  it  between  the  leaves,  and  classified  it  as  far 
as  he  was  able  ;  then,  with  coolness  perfectly  restored,  he  ran  forward  a  few 
paces,  threw  up  his  arms,  and  shouted  !  Was  it  that  the  lions  had  never 
encountered  so  strange  an  antagonist  before?  At  all  events,  they  looked  up, 
then  turned  tail,  and  bounded  away.  He  dragged  the  cub  for  some  distance, 
till  having  left  the  dangerous  vicinity,  he  shouldered  and  brought  it  into  camp." 


A  Martyr  in  Africa* 


40  A  Martyr  in  Africa. 

In  addition  to  this  absence  of  fear,  Mr.  Hannington  had  a  strong  will.  After 
his  days  of  preparatory  study  were  over,  he  took  charge  of  St.  George's  Church 
in  Hurstpierpoint,  the  place  of  his  birth.  He  set  himself  against  intemperance, 
and  became  a  total  abstainer;  conceiving  himself  bound  everywhere  by  this 
resolve,  years  after,  while  seeking  health  in  Switzerland,  he  was  making  the  ascent 
of  Monte  Rosa.  He  was  not  well,  and  suffered  from  "snow-sickness."  The 
usual  remedy  is  a  mouthful  of  brandy,  and  it  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  effec- 
tual. The  guides  repeatedly  urged  him  to  take  it,  but  he  resolutely  refused,  and, 
conquering  by  sheer  effort  of  will,  he  reached  the  summit.  This  same  strength  of 
will  and  power  of  endurance  saved  his  life  more  than  once  in  Africa.  At  one  time 
he  was  left  for  dead  by  his  bearers,  but  found  strength  to  crawl  after  them  into 
camp. 

During  his  earlier  years  Mr.  Hannington  had  no  very  earnest  religious  life. 
The  conversion  of  a  friend  was  the  means  of  deepening  his  convictions  and  pur- 
poses. He  became  the  humblest  of  learners,  and  received  the  kingdom  of  God 
as  a  little  child.  He  was  soon  a  helper  to  others,  and  especially  to  young  men. 
There  was  no  stiffness  or  reserve  in  his  manner  with  them.  A  mill-worker  in  his 
parish  said  :  "  We  all  like  Mr.  Hannington,  and  no  mistake.  He  is  so  free  like. 
He  just  comes  into  your  house  and  sticks  his  hands  down  into  the  bottom  of  his 
pockets,  and  talks  to  you  like  a  man." 

It  will  be  seen  how  well  fitted  he  was  for  a  missionary  life.  His  Oxford  friends 
were  delighted  when  they  heard  that  he  had  been  chosen  as  the  leader  of 
a  mission  party  going  into  Central  Africa.  He  conducted  that  mission  with  so 
much  success  that  the  Church  Missionary  Society  proposed  that  he  should  be 
made  Bishop  of  the  Christian  churches  of  Eastern  Equatorial  Africa,  which  region 
he  had  been  exploring.  But  his  health  had  broken  down.  Thirty-seven  times 
in  one  year  he  had  been  stricken  with  fever.  He  recruited  at  home  in  England, 
accepted  the  bishopric  and  entered  upon  its  duties  with  entire  self-devotion. 
He  sailed  for  Africa  in  October,  1884,  going  wholly  at  his  own  expense,  also 
taking  out  two  workingmen  as  assistants  at  his  own  cost.  On  the  threshold  of 
his  work  he  has  met  a  martyr's  death.  July  5,  1885,  he  wrote  home,  where  his 
wife  and  friends  were  anxiously  waiting,  these  touching  words  :  "  Starvation, 
desertion,  treachery,  and  a  few  other  nightmares  and  furies  hover  over  one's 
head  in  ghastly  forms,  and  yet,  in  spite  of  all,  I  feel  in  capital  spirits,  and  feel 
sure  of  results,  though  perhaps  they  may  not  come  in  exactly  the  way  we  expect. 
In  the  midst  of  the  storm  I  can  say  :  — 

'  Peace,  perfect  peace,  the  future  all  unknown ; 
Jesus  we  know  and  He  is  on  the  throne.' " 

In  conclusion  he  wrote  :  "  If  this  is  the  last  chapter  of  earthly  history,  then  the 
next  will  be  the  first  page  of  the  heavenly— no  blots  and  smudges,  no  incoher- 
ence, but  sweet  converse  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb." 

Does  the  news  of  the  death  of  this  noble  man  check  the  ardor  of  his  country- 
men for  the  service  of  their  King?  No;  Englishmen  are  not  so  daunted. 
Within  four  weeks  after  the  rumor  of  this  great  sorrow  came,  fifty-three  persons 
offered  themselves  as  missionaries  to  the  very  society  with  which  Bishop 
Hannington  was  connected.     Men  fall,  but  the  great  work  goes  on. 


THE  ROMANCE  OF  HERMANNSBURG  AND  ITS  MISSIONS. 


We  reproduce  this  true  story  for  the  sake  of  the  many  hundreds  of  young 
Christians  now  fitting  themselves  for  missionary  work  at  home  and  abroad,  to 
whom  it  is  not  familiar. 

Hermannsburg  is  a  quiet  German  village  lying  upon  the  bosom  of  the  wide, 
wild  Liineburg  Heath,  whose  long  swelling  lines  of  summer  bloom  roll  away 
unbroken  for  miles  until  lost  in  a  wood,  or  shut  in  by  an  oak-crowned  hill 
or  a  reach  of  bright  green  meadow. 

In  1848  Louis  Harms  became,  by  the  death  of  his  father,  the  sole  pastor  of 
the  parish.  He  had  been  born  and  brought  up  there,  and  he  loved  the  Heath 
and  the  village 
"with  body  and 
soul."  He  was 
a  great  reader, 
an  original 
thinker,  and 
an  eloquent 
speaker;  and 
had  besides 
an  overflowing 
humor  and 
shr  e  wd  com- 
mon sense. 
And  though 
he  had  had  a 
thorough  uni- 
versity educa- 
tion,  he    lived 

among  the  simple  people  as  one  of  themselves,  like  a  father  or  a  brother.  His 
deep  and  constant  communion  with  the  Lord  Jesus  and  the  indwelling  life  of  the 
divine  Spirit  made  him  a  power  with  God  and  with  men.  Under  the  impulse 
of  his  faith  and  fervor  the  people  awakened  to  a  new  life. 

Hermannsburg  was  soon  a  Christian  village  indeed.  Every  house  had  family 
worship,  and  no  one  was  absent  from  church  except  from  sickness.  The 
laborers  had  prayers  in  the  fields,  and  their  country  ballads  were  exchanged 
for  the  grand  old  German  hymns.  Poverty  and  drunkenness  disappeared  and 
a  great  joy  filled  the  place. 

Now  came  the  natural  result  of  a  quickened  spiritual  life.  Faith  and  self- 
surrender  asked  for  work  to  do,  and  love  reached  out  in  pity  for  the  lost,  and  in 
obedience  to  Christ's  command,  a  mission  to  the  heathen  was  proposed  in  1S49. 


42  The  Romance  of  Hermannsburg. 

Twelve  villages  offered  themselves.  A  house  was  set  apart  for  their  training, 
and  Mr.  Harms's  brother,  also  a  clergyman,  took  charge  of  them.  The  course  of 
instruction  extended  over  four  years,  and  meanwhile  the  candidates  worked 
daily,  "  partly  for  health,  partly  that  they  might  do  something  for  their  own  sup- 
port, and  partly  that  they  might  remain  humble."  As  to  the  spirit  in  which  they 
were  to  study,  Mr.  Harms  exhorted  them  to  pray  diligently.  "  I  do  not  mean  your 
common  prayers  only,"  he  said,  "  but  diligently  in  your  own  room,  daily,  daily 
for  the  Holy  Spirit.     Remember  Luther's  saying  :  '  Well-prayed  is  half-learned.' " 

The  wish  of  some  young  sailors  to  join  this  mission  band  as  colonists, 
suggested  to  the  Hermannsburg  peasants  that  they  might  themselves  go  out  in  a 
colony.  And  now  came  the  money  question.  "  Then,"  said  Harms,  "  I  knocked 
diligently  on  the  dear  God  in  prayer."  One  of  the  sailors  said  :  "  Why  not 
build  a  ship  and  you  can  send  as  often  as  you  will?"  But  the  money!  "I 
prayed  fervently  to  the  Lord,"  said  Harms,  "and  as  I  rose  up  at  midnight  from 
my  knees,  I  said,  wTith  a  voice  that  almost  startled  me  in  the  quiet  room  : 
Forward  now  in  God's  name." 

Mr.  Harms  now  sent  a  brief  report  of  his  plans  to  two  country  newspapers, 
and  money  came  in  from  all  quarters.  A  brig  was  built  at  Harburg  and  the 
colonists  were  made  ready.  There  were  eight  of  them  and  eight  missionaries. 
Smiths,  tailors,  carpenters,  shoemakers,  coopers,  were  fitting  out  their  ship. 
The  women  and  girls  knitted  with  marvelous  swiftness.  The  farmers  brought 
in  their  loads  of  buckwheat  and  rye,  and  stripped  their  orchards  for  the 
vessel ;  while  hens  and  pigs  accumulated  as  if  for  a  show.  The  very  Heath  paid 
tribute  in  brooms.  When  all  was  ready  a  farewell  service  was  held,  at  which 
the  sixteen  stood  up  and  sung  together  the  hero-psalm,  Einfeste  Burg  ist  unser 
Gott.  And  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  October,  1853,  their  mission  ship  Candace 
sailed  for  Africa.  Three  weeks  afterward  twelve  new  candidates  took  their 
places  in  the  training  house,  to  be  ready  for  the  next  voyage. 

The  Candace  carried  her  passengers  to  Port  Natal,  or  Durban,  in  South- 
eastern Africa,  the  same  port  at  which  all  our  American  missionaries,  among 
the  Zulus,  land.  A  picture  of  Durban,  as  seen  from  the  Botanical  Gardens 
near  by,  is  given  on  the  next  page.  In  the  interior  of  the  colony  of  Natal, 
which  is  under  British  rule,  the  Hermannsburgers  bought  6,000  acres  of  land  not 
far  from  Pieter  Maritzburg,  built  permanent  dwellings,  and  called  the  settlement 
New  Hermannsburg.  The  English  government  soon  became  friendly,  giving 
them  3,000  more  acres,  and  offering  6,000  to  any  new  mission  station.  The  mis- 
sionaries held  all  in  common  and  soon  settled  to  their  work  among  the  Zulus. 

On  her  second  voyage,  in  1856,  the  Candace  landed  fifteen  more  colonists 
in  Natal,  and  in  1857  no  less  than  forty-four  persons,  twelve  of  them 
missionaries,  left  the  Old  Hermannsburg  for  the  New. 

At  the  end  of  seven  years  there  were  one  hundred  of  these  settlers  at  eight 
stations  in  the  eastern  part  of  Natal,  and  fifty  heathen  had  been  baptized. 
Pastor  Harms  died  in  1865,  but  his  work  was  carried  on  by  his  brother 
until  1885,  and  since  then  by  his  nephew,  Egmont  Harms.  In  1885  their 
South  African  mission,  which  had  spread  into  Basutoland,  numbered  51 
stations,  60  missionaries,  and  10,336  converts! 


The  Romance  of  Hermamtsburg. 


43 


The  Hermanjisburgers  had  also  undertaken  a  mission  in  India,  where,  in  1885, 
they   had   ten   stations,    eleven    missionaries,    twenty-seven    helpers,   and    over 


800    baptized    pastors.      They    have    more    recently    begun    work    in     New- 
Zealand  and  Australia.     They  have  given  up  the  plan  of  sending  out  colonies, 


44 


The  Romance  of  Hermannsburg. 


and  of  a  community  of  goods  among  missionaries  and  of  a  missionary  ship. 
But  their  pastor  is  still  sole  director,  and  their  work  is  still  carried  on  by  peasants 
trained  in  their  own  village  and  is  supported  by  their  labor,  faith,  and  prayer. 
Each  of  the  11,000  Hermannsburg  communicants  lays  annually  a  gift  on  the 


ZULU   WARRIORS   WITH    SHIELD   AND   ASSEGAI. 


communion  table.  Plain  yeomen  have  handed  in  500  crowns,  and  some  have 
given  their  all. 

In  addition  to  these  sources  of  supply,  Pastor  Harms  began  in  1854  to 
publish  a  missionary  magazine  which  has  had  great  success.  It  was  a  quaint, 
informal  exchange  of  letters  between  Old  and  New  Hermannsburg,  keeping 
them  in  full  sympathy  and  acquaintanceship  in  the  most  easy  and  friendly  way. 
This  has  also  proved  an  efficient  method  of  arousing  the  interest  and  keeping 
up  the  gifts  of  others  who  feel  the  impulse  of  this  living  faith  and  work. 

Such  glorious  things  can  Christians  do,  such  results  may  be  expected,  when 
a  whole  church  has  "  a  mind  to  work." 


ftfr^ 


#£V3£ 


THE  STORY  OF  BASUTOLAND. 


MOFFAT'S     ATTENDANTS. 


On  the  second  of  May.  1829,  the  first  three  missionaries  of  the  modern  Prot- 
estant Church  of  France  were  ordained  in  Paris.  Soon  after,  they  set  sail  for 
South  Africa,  and,  arriving  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  they  were  warmly  welcomed 
by  descendants  of  those  Huguenot  exiles 
who  escaped  from  France  to  Holland  and 
were  allowed  to  emigrate  to  South  Africa 
in  1698.  At  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the 
Huguenots,  one  of  the  three  missionaries 
remained  with  them,  in  their  lovely  valley 
of  Wellington,  to  build  up  their  churches. 
The  other  two,  Lemue  and  Rolland,  set 
out  northward,  visiting  various  missions  in 
Kaffirland,  but  resolving  to  seek  new 
regions  where  the  gospel  had  never  been 
known.  Robert  Moffat  was  then  already 
stationed  among  the  Bechuanas  at  Kuru- 
man,  and  there  the  Frenchmen  halted  awhile,  to  prepare  for  a  journey  of  one 
hundred  miles  further  inland,  to  the  Barotse. 

At  length  reaching  that  tribe,  they  received  a  joyous  welcome.  "  Here  come 
our  people  !  "  was  the  cry  of  the  natives.  The  chief  gave  them  a  pleasant  valley 
in  his  beautiful  country,  and  everything  promised  well.  But  hardly  had  they 
begun  to  build  a  house  when  Moselakatsi,  the  Matabele  tyrant,  resolved  on  the 
destruction  of  the  Barotse.  The  missionaries  were  forced  to  return  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Kuruman,  while  their  native  friends  fled  eastward  before  the  wolf. 
They  wandered  many  weeks  and  were  dying  of  hunger  when  Rolland  and  Lemue, 
taking  cattle  to  supply  their  need,  went  in  search  of  them,  guided  only  by  a 
compass  across  the  trackless  waste.  When  they  came  upon  the  starving  fugitives 
they  were  at  once  recognized  and  were  surrounded  by  a  crowd  who  cried  out  for 
food.  As  soon  as  they  had  rallied  a  little,  the  two  white  men  led  that  great  black 
company  safely  back  to  Motito,  eighteen  miles  from  Kuruman,  and  there  they 
established  their  first  station  in  South  Africa. 

Meanwhile  another  missionary  trio  arrived  from  France.  They  heard  at  the 
coast  of  the  disasters  attending  the  first  mission,  but  not  of  its  reestablishment. 
so  they  looked  about  for  another  opening.     This  was  in  1833.     Moshesh.   the 


46 


The  Story  of  Basutoland. 


warrior  chief  of  the  Basuto  tribe,  had  recently  settled  on  the  northwestern  slopes 
of  the  Drachensberg  Mountains,  which  divide  Natal  and  Kaffirland  from  the 
Orange  Free  State.    Just  then  a  Hottentot,  who  had  lived  with  English  mission- 


aries, came  to  hunt  in  Moshesh's  land  and  told  him  that  the  Christian  religion 
alone  could  give  peace  and  prosperity.  Moshesh  was  tired  of  war  and  he  made 
the  Hottentot  promise  to  try  and  find  a  Christian  teacher  for  his  tribe.  He  also 
sent  a  deputation  to  "  the  great  chief  of  the  whites  "  with  a  present  of  two  hun- 


The  Story  of  Basutoland.  \7 

dred  oxen,  praying  him  to  send  back  teacher?  in  exchange.  The  Hottentot  met 
the  three  French  missionaries  and  guided  them  to  Basutoland,  where  Moshesh 
received  them  kindly  and  appointed  two  of  his  sons  to  take  care  of  them. 

Hither  came  Rolland  and  Pelissier,  a  recruit  from  France,  to  join  them,  leav- 
ing Lemue  in  charge  of  the  smaller  field  at  Motito.  They  taught  the  people  for 
live  years  before  there  was  a  single  convert.    They  translated  the  Bible,  printed 

s|>ellmg-books  and  catechism,  and  taught  old  and  young  to  read.  At  first  the 
natives  protested  "that  it  was  ridiculous  to  hope  that  a  black  could  ever  be 
clever  enough  to  make  the  paper  speak."  But  in  spite  of  these  doubts,  some  <>( 
them  began  to  make  progress,  until,  one  morning,  ten  of  the  scholars  found  that 
they  could  make  out  the  meaning  of  some  sentences  they  had  never  before  tried 
to  read  !     There  was  great  excitement. 


AN     AFRICAN     VILLAGE. 

Moshesh's  old  father  said,  "I  will  never  believe  that  a  word  can  become 
visible."  "You  do  not  yet  believe?"  said  Moshesh;  "we  will  prove  it  to  you." 
He  told  one  of  the  best  readers  to  go  to  some  distance.  "Now,"  said  he  to  his 
father,  "  think  of  something  and  say  it  to  the  white  man ;  he  will  make  some 
marks  on  this  robe."  The  words  were  written,  the  reader  was  recalled  and  read 
to  his  chief  all  that  he  had  just  said.     The  old  man  was  stupefied  with  wonder. 

From  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries  in  1833  to  1848  there  was  peace  through- 
out Basutoland,  and  there  came  a  time  of  blessing  when  many  churches  were 
planted.  The  baptism  of  converts  was  attended  by  crowds,  and  the  native 
Christians  witnessed  a  good  confession. 

At  length  in  1845  the  British  occupation  of  what  is  now  the  Free  State  led  to 
great  disorders  among  the  surrounding  tribes,  in  which  the  people  of  Moshesh 
suffered.  Each  tribe  hoped  for  British  aid  and  made  war  on  the  others.  Ten 
years  later  the  British  withdrew,  leaving  many  tribes  at  the  mercy  of  the  Boers, 
who  then  established  themselves  in  the   Free  State  and  declared  war  with   the 


^  The  Story  of  Basntoland. 

Basutos.  The  Basutos  beat  them  and  a  broken  peace  followed,  until  a  serious 
war  of  three  years  broke  out  in  1865  ;  after  which  the  Basutos  placed  themselves 
under  British  protection,  and  they  remain  under  it  to  this  day. 

During  those  three  years  of  war,  famine,  and  misery,  the  French  missionaries 
were  driven  out,  but  the  native  church  grew  and  thrived.  Native  evangelists  fed 
the  scattered  flocks,  and  one  of  them  was  able  to  present  to  the  missionaries  at 
their  return  one  hundred  souls  brought  to  the  faith  of  Christ  by  his  labors  in  the 
mountain  hiding-places.  It  was  in  1870  that  Moshesh,  the  king,  became  a  Chris- 
tian, and  he  died  the  same  year,  leaving  his  kingdom  to  his  son  Letsie,  who  still 
rules,  though  nearly  ninety  years  old. 

In  1874  there  were  4,000  church  members  and  catechumens;  80  native 
preachers ;  and  50  out-stations,  with  2,500  pupils  in  schools.  The  contributions 
of  native  Christians  amounted  in  that  year  to  #3,554.25. 

One  may  gain  some  idea  of  the  rate  of  progress  by  comparing  these  figures 
with  statistics  brought  down  to  1890.  There  were  then  connected  with 
the  mission  17  stations;  in  out-stations;  20  French  missionaries;  190  native 
assistants  ;  6,543  communicants,  and  3,332  catechumens,  or  persons  preparing  for 
church  membership;  504  were  received  to  the  churches,  and  1,167  t0  tne  num" 
ber  of  catechumens,  in  the  year  1888. 

From  these  figures  it  will  be  rightly  inferred  that  a  great  religious  awakening 
occurred  at  this  time.  There  appeared  a  mysterious  preparation  for  it  in  individ- 
ual souls  all  over  that  region.  Many  external  circumstances  concurred  with  a 
special  earnestness  in  labors  and  special  perseverance  in  prayers  to  bring  about  a 
wonderful  revival.  "  It  was,"  says  the  Report  of  the  Journal  des  Missions,  "  as  if 
there  passed  over  all  Basutoland  a  breath  of  resurrection  and  of  life."  And  may 
we  not  observe  a  connection  between  this  prospering  wind  from  heaven  and  the 
going  forth  of  the  Basuto  churches  upon  their  Master's  errand  to  the  regions 
beyond  ?  "  Go,  teach  all  nations,"  said  our  ascending  Lord,  "  and  lo  !  I  am 
with  you  alway."  Native  evangelists,  under  the  lead  of  noble  French  mission- 
aries who  desired  to  find  a  field  for  the  Christian  activity  of  their  converts,  have 
entered  upon  a  mission  to  the  Barotse  tribe  in  the  valley  of  the  Zambesi  River. 
This  Zambesi  mission  has  passed  through  its  first  stages  of  exploration  and  of 
difficulty,  is  tolerated  by  the  Barotse  king  Lewanika,  has  established  schools  and 
seen  its  first  converts.  All  hail  to  our  French  brethren  and  their  native  helpers 
in  South  Africa ! 


y- 


^JSiKl 


THE  CONVERSION  OF  LIBE. 


[This  story  is  taken  with  some  abbreviations  from  the  volume  entitled  "The  Basutos,"  written  by  Rev.  E. 
Casalis,  an  early  missionary  among  this  tribe,  and  afterwards  the  Director  of  the  Paris  Evangelical  Mission.] 

Libe,  the  uncle  of  the  Basuto  king  Moshesh,  saw  the  arrival  of  missionaries  in 
his  country  with  great  displeasure.  "  Why  are  these  strangers  not  driven  away  ?  " 
said  he  one  day  to  Khoabane.  "Why  should  they  be  driven  away?"  replied 
Khoabane.  "They  do  us  no  harm;  let  us  listen  to  what  they  say;  no  one 
obliges  us  to  believe  them." 
"That  is  what  you  and 
Moshesh  are  always  repeat- 
ing. You  will  find  out  your 
mistake  when  it  is  too  late." 
Libe  was  then  nearly  eighty 
years  old.  He  soon  left  the 
neighborhood  for  a  distant 
hillside,  to  procure  good  pas- 
tures for  his  flocks  and  to 
escape  from  our  preaching. 

He  soon  saw  with  vexation 
that  we  had  found  our  way 
to  his  dwelling.  At  the  first 
sound  of  our  voices  a  smile 
of  scorn  and  hatred  played 
on  his  lips.  "  Depart  !  "  cried 
he.  "  I  know  you  not.  I 
will  have  nothing  to  do  with  you  or  your  God  !  I  will  not  believe  in  him  until 
I  see  him  with  my  own  eyes."  One  day  he  became  furious  and  said  :  "  Young 
man,  importune  me  no  more ;  and  if  you  wish  me  to  listen,  go  and  fetch  your 
father  from  beyond  the  sea.     He,  perhaps,  may  be  able  to  instruct  me." 

The  violence  of  his  animosity  was  specially  shown  at  the  burial  of  one  of  his 
daughters,  at  which  I  was  invited  to  officiate  by  her  husband.  The  procession 
had  preceded  me,  and  I  was  following  slowly  to  the  grave,  praying  the  Lord  to 
enable  me  to  glorify  him,  when  I  saw  Libe  rushing  towards  me  with  a  rapidity 
which  only  rage  could  give  him.  His  menacing  gestures  plainly  showed  his 
design,  and  I  trembled  at  the  prospect  of  being  obliged  to  defend  myself.  Hap- 
pily his  sons  ran  to  my  aid.     They  respectfully  begged  him  to  retire,  but  he  was 


mi  Sj  | 


MOSHESH,    KING    OF  THE  BASUTOS    (1833). 


5o 


The  Conversion  of  Libe. 


deaf  to  their  entreaties  and  a  struggle  was  the  inevitable  consequence.  The 
wretched  old  man,  exhausting  himself  by  vain  efforts,  reduced  his  children  to  the 
grievous  necessity  of  laying  him  on  the  ground  and  keeping  him  there  during 
the  whole  service.  He  ended  by  knocking  his  head  violently  against  the  ground. 
At  last  he  ceased,  being  quite  worn  out,  and  casting  on  me  a  look  of  which  I 
could  not  have  believed  any  man  capable,  he  loaded  me  with  invectives. 


A  BASUTO   WARRIOR. 

After  this,  we  went  to  see  Libe  no  more,  though  we  sent  him  friendly  messages 
by  his  neighbors.  What  was  my  surprise  one  day  on  receiving  an  invitation  to 
go  to  him  !  The  messenger  whom  he  sent  was  radiant  with  joy.  "  Libe  prays," 
said  he  with  emotion,  "  and  begs  you  to  go  and  pray  with  him."  Seeing  my 
incredulity,  the  pious  Tsiu  went  on  as  follows:  "Yesterday  morning  Libe  sent 
for  me  into  his  hut  and  said  :  '  My  child,  can  you  pray  ?     Kneel  down  by  me 


The  Convi  rsion  of  Lite. 


5' 


and  pray  God  to  have  mercy  on  the  greatest  of  sinners.  1  am  afraid,  my  <  hud, 
this  God  that  I  have  so  Long  denied  has  made  me  feel  his  power  in  my  soul.     I 

know  now  that  he  exists.  I  have  not  any  doubt  of  it.  Do  you  think  God  will 
pardon  me?  I  refused  to  go  and  hear  Ids  Wc.nl  while  I  was  still  able  to  walk. 
Now  that  I  am  blind  and  almost  deaf,  how  can  I  serve  Jehovah?1 

" Here,"  added Tsiu,  "Libe  stopped  a  moment  and  then  asked.  '  Have  you 


your  book  with  you  ? '  <  Yes.'  '  Well,  open  it  and  place  my  finger  on  the  name 
of  God.'  I  did  as  he  wished.  <  It  is  there,  then,'  he  cried,  'die  beautiful  name 
of  Cod  !     Now  place  my  finger  on  that  of  Jesus,  the  Saviour.'  " 

Such  was  the  touching  recital  of  Libe's  wonderful  conversion,  and  I  soon  had 
the  pleasure  of  assuring  myself  of  its  reality.  For  nearly  a  year  we  shared  the 
happv  task  of  ministering  to  this  old  man  whom  grace  rendered  docile  as  a  little 


52  The  Conversion  of  Libe. 

child.  He  was  baptized  in  his  own  village.  This  ceremony  attracted  a  crowd 
of  people  who  wished  to  see  him  who  had  persecuted  us,  and  who  now  preached 
the  faith  which  once  he  sought  to  destroy.  Four  aged  members  of  the  church 
carried  the  neophyte,  who  was  too  feeble  to  move  alone,  and  placed  him  on  a 
couch  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly.  We  thought  it  our  duty  to  ask  him  to  give 
an  account  of  his  faith.  "  I  believe,"  said  he  without  hesitation,  "  in  Jehovah, 
the  true  God,  who  created  me  and  who  has  preserved  me  to  this  hour.  He  has 
had  pity  on  me  who  hated  him  and  has  delivered  Jesus  to  death  to  save  me." 

"  Do  you  still  place  any  confidence  in  the  sacrifices  you  have  been  accustomed 
to  make  to  the  spirits  of  your  ancestors ? "  "How  can  such  sacrifices  purify? 
I  believe  in  them  no  more  ;  the  blood  of  Jesus  is  my  only  hope."  "  Have  you 
any  desire  you  would  like  to  express  to  your  family  and  to  the  Basutos?  " 

"Yes;  I  desire  them  to  make  haste  to  believe  and  repent.  Let  them  all  go 
to  the  house  of  God  and  listen  meekly  to  what  is  taught  there.  Moshesh,  my 
son,  where  art  thou?"  Here  Moshesh  covered  his  eyes  to  hide  his  emotion. 
"  And  thou,  Letsie,  my  grandson,  where  art  thou  ?  Attend  to  my  last  words. 
Why  do  you  resist  God?  Are  your  wives  an  objection?  These  women  are  your 
sisters,  not  your  wives.  Jehovah  created  but  one  man  and  one  woman  and 
united  them  to  be  one  flesh.  Oh,  submit  yourselves  to  Jesus  and  he  will  save 
you  !     Leave  off  war  and  love  your  fellow-creatures  !  " 

"  Why  do  you  desire  baptism  ?  "  "  Because  Jesus  has  said  that  he  who  believes 
and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved.  Can  I  know  better  than  my  Master  tells  me?" 
It  is  the  custom  in  our  stations  to  repeat  the  ancient  form  of  renouncement 
before  receiving  baptism.  It  had  been  explained  to  Libe  and  he  had  perfectly 
understood  it ;  but  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  learn  it,  or  even  to  repeat  it 
after  the  minister.  "'  /  renounce  the  world  and its  pomp »,'"  said  my  colleague. 
"  No  !  "  exclaimed  Libe,  "  I  do  not  renounce  it  now,  for  I  did  so  long  ago."  "  '  / 
renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works.'  "  "The  devil !  "  interrupted  the  happy 
believer,  "what  have  I  to  do  with  him?  He  has  deceived  me  for  many  long 
years.  Does  he  wish  to  lead  me  to  ruin  with  himself?  I  leave  hell  to  him  !  Let 
him  possess  it  alone  !  "  "  '  /  renounce  the  flesh  and  its  lusts'  "  Again  Libe 
exclaimed  :  "  Are  there  no  joys  but  those  of  the  world  ?  Have  we  not  in  Jesus 
pleasures  which  satisfy  us?  " 

According  to  a  wish  very  generally  expressed,  Libe  was  surnamed  Adam,  the 
father  of  the  Basutos.  He  died  one  Sunday  morning  shortly  after  his  baptism. 
One  of  his  grandsons  had  just  been  reading  to  him  some  verses  from  the  Gospels. 
"  Do  you  know,"  said  the  young  man,  "  that  to-day  is  the  Lord's  Day  ?  "  "I  know 
it,"  he  replied  ;  "  I  am  with  my  God."  A  few  moments  after,  he  asked  that  a 
mantle  might  be  spread  over  him,  as  he  felt  overpowered  with  sleep ;  and  he 
slept,  to  wake  in  this  world  no  more. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  SPIRITISM. 


A    STORY    OK    KAFFIRLAND. 


The  year  1856  opened  upon  the  people  of  British  Kaffraria  with  every  sign  of 
prosperity  and  peace.  But  one  morning  in  May,  a  girl  named  Nongqause,  the 
daughter  of  Mhlakaza  a  councilor  of  the  chief  Sarili,  went  to  draw  water  from  a 
stream  which  flowed  past  her  home.  On  her  return  she  told  her  father  that  she 
had  seen  by  the  river  some  strange  men.  Mhlakaza  went  to  find  them,  and  he 
reported  that  there  were  indeed  strangers  there  who  bade  him  go  home  and  offer 
an  ox  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  come  again  to  them  in  four  days.  This 
he  did,  and  he  said  that  the  strange  people  then  told  him  that  they  themselves 
were  spirits  of  the  dead  and  the  eternal  enemies  of  the  white  men,  and  that  they 
had  come  to  aid  the  Kaffirs  in  driving  the  English  from  their  land.     They  would 


SPIRIT    DOCTOR 


EXTRACTING"   A    DISEASE. 


guide  Mhlakaza  by  commands  from  the  spirit  world.  His  chief  Sarili  received 
this  message  with  joy,  and  when  he  was  told  to  order  that  the  best  cattle,  in 
which  the  Kaffir's  wealth  consisted,  should  be  killed  and  eaten,  he  commanded 
that  it  should  be  done.  Instantly  all  Kaffirland  was  in  commotion.  The 
heathen  chiefs  and  people  chose  to  abandon  their  allegiance  to  the  government 
which  forbade  this  slaughter,  rather  than  their  hereditary  belief  in  spirits. 
Nongqause,  standing  in  the  river  in  presence  of  multitudes  of  people,  assured 
them  that  she  heard  unearthly  sounds  beneath  her  feet  —  the  voices  of  spirits 
holding  high  council  over  the  affairs  of  men.     These  greedy  ghosts  were  never 


c4  South  African  Spiritism. 

satisfied  with  urging  the  destruction  of  the  cattle.     More  and  more  were  killed, 
but  never  enough.     At  last  the  order  was  announced  by  Mhlakaza,  that  every 


animal  must  be  destroyed  and  every  grain  of  corn  also.     Then  the  Kaffirs  would 
become  worthy  of  the  help  of  a  spirit  host.     On  a  certain  day  of  the  next  year 


South  African  Spiritism.  55 

the  ancient  heroes  of  their  race  would  come  hack,  myriads  of  beautiful  cattle 
would  rise  out  of  the  ground  and  (over  it  far  and  wide,  and  vast  fields  of  waving 
corn  would  spring  up,  ripe  for  eating.  Trouble,  sickness,  and  old  age  would  he 
known  no  more,  and  the  sky  would  fall  on  the  whites  and  crush  them  out  forever, 
and  with  them,  every  Kaffir  who  opposed  the  commands  of  the  spirits.  A  deliri- 
ous frenzy  seized  the  whole  community.  They  killed  and  wasted  their  posses- 
sions and  prepared  great  kraals  for  the  coming  millions  of  cattle  so  soon  to 
appear.  Even  when  they  had  come  to  the  starving  point,  they  worked  on, 
making  enormous  sacks  to  hold  the  milk  which  was  soon  to  flow  like  water  ! 

Meanwhile  the  government  of  the  Cape  Colony,  which  could  not  stay  these 
mad  proceedings,  did  all  it  could  to  protect  its  frontier,  and  laid  in  stores  of  food 
in  pity  for  the  misguided  people.  For  while  the  masses  were  acting  under  the 
influence  of  superstition,  there  were  leaders  whose  plan  it  was  to  hurl  their  follow- 
ers, when  half-starving  and  frantic,  upon  the  colony.  These  leaders  fancied  that 
such  a  despairing  host  would  prove  irresistible,  and  would  regain  for  them  their 
ancient  dominion  in  the  land.  They  probably  relied  on  the  destruction  of  the 
whites  and  on  the  spoils  of  war  to  console  their  people  for  the  non-appearance  of 
the  spirits  with  the  wonderful  cattle  and  the  abundant  corn. 

At  length,  early  in  the  year  1857,  the  morning  of  the  day  of  resurrection  so 
long  promised  and  ardently  expected  dawned.  All  night  long  the  Kaffirs  had 
watched  in  the  most  intense  excitement,  looking  to  see  two  blood-red  suns  rise 
over  the  eastern  hills,  when  the  heavens  would  fall  and  crush  the  hated  races. 
They  were  famished  and  half-dying  men,  yet  that  night  was  a  time  of  fierce, 
delirious  joy.  The  morning  was  to  see  their  sorrows  ended.  The  morning  came, 
but  the  same  old  sun  bathed  the  hillsides  with  silver  light,  and  all  was  unchanged. 
"Could  the  predictions  prove  untrue?"  No!  it  must  be  at  noon;  or,  when 
noontime  passed,  it  must  be  at  sunset !  But  when  the  sun  went  down  in  peace- 
ful splendor,  the  Kaffirs  awoke  to  the  facts  of  their  dreadful  condition.  The 
leaders  tried  to  cheer  them  and  said  the  day  of  resurrection  was  only  put  off. 
But  they  had  made  a  mistake  fatal  to  their  success  in  not  assembling  the  people 
together,  on  pretence  of  witnessing  the  resurrection,  at  some  place  from  which 
they  could  burst  upon  the  colony.  It  was  too  late  to  rectify  this  blunder. 
Fierce  excitement  gave  way  to  despair.  The  only  hope  left  was  to  go  to  the 
colony  as  beggars  to  ask  bread.  Sometimes  whole  families  sat  down  and  died 
together,  fifteen  to  twenty  skeletons  being  often  found  afterward  under  a  single 
tree.  Brother  fought  with  brother  for  scraps  of  those  great  milksacks  made  for  the 
imaginary  supply.  The  aged  and  the  feeble  were  abandoned,  while  the  young 
and  strong  fed  upon  wild  plants  and  the  roots  of  trees.  A  stream  of  emaciated 
beings  poured  into  the  colony,  who  sat  down  before  the  farmhouses  and  asked 
in  piteous  tones  for  food.  The  official  returns  of  British  Kaffraria  show  a  de- 
crease of  population  during  that  fatal  year,  1857,  from  105,000  to  38,000. 

Mhlakaza  himself  perished,  but  Nongqause  escaped  and  was  still  living  in  the 
colony  in  1877.  She  preserved  an  unbroken  silence  about  these  awful  events. 
Most  of  the  Kaffirs  now  admit  that  they  were  infatuated ;  but  spiritism  dies  hard 
among  them  and  is  still  rife,  as  in  all  Africa.  Their  religious  rites  consist 
merely  in  sacrifices  to  appease  the  spirits.  Their  priests  are  also  medicine-men, 
or  witch-doctors.     They  are  often  skilful  in  the  use  of  herbs,  but  these  remedies 


56 


South  African  Spiritism. 


are  considered  quite  inferior  in  importance  to  their  supernatural  powers.  The 
heathen  Kaffirs  and  Zulus  endure  painful  wounds  with  stoicism,  but  are  helpless 
with  fear  when  attacked  by  disease.  They  can  see  how  a  wound  is  caused,  but 
think  that  all  disease  comes  by  witchcraft  from  the  malice  of  an  enemy.  To 
detect  and  remove  the  substance  which  has  bewitched  the  sick  person  is  the  first 
object.  To  do  this  the  aid  of  spirits  is  sought  in  ways  both  frantic  and  absurd. 
They  dress  fantastically,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  accompanying  picture  taken 
from  a  recent  photograph  of  Zulu  witch-doctors.  Only  the  wondrous  enlight- 
enment which   comes  by  receiving  and  obeying  the  Holy  Spirit  of   God   can 


ZULU    WITCH    DOCTORS. 

remove  the  darkness  of  a  superstition  so  deep-rooted  and  widespread.  Let 
us  not  forget  the  appeal  made  to  the  traveler,  Du  Chaillu,  by  the  poor 
African  Adouma,  whose  sister  had  just  been  killed  for  bewitching  a  person  who 
had  died.  "O  Chally  !  when  you  go  back  to  your  far  country,  America,  let 
them  send  men  to  us  poor  people,  to  teach  us  from  what  you  call  God's  mouth." 


TtiRhEY. 


WHO  ARE  THE   ARMENIANS? 


1IY    REV.    J.    E.    FIERCE. 


I  wonder  how  many  of  the  young  people  who  read  the  Missionary  Herald 
really  know  who  the  Armenians  are.  Probably  they  do  know  that  many  of  them 
live  in  Turkey,  and  so  take  it  for  granted  that  they  are  Turks.  If  you  were  to 
ask  your  older  friends  who  these  people  are,  I  presume  the  most  of  them  would 
reply,  "Turks,  of  course;  don't  they  live  in  Turkey?" 

Now,  the  truth  is,  although  they  live  in  Turkey,  you  cannot  insult  an  Armenian 
more  than  to  call  him  a  Turk.  He 
resents  it  as  much  as  you  would  to 
be  considered  an  American  Indian. 
Shall  I  tell  you,  then,  who  they  are  ? 
Having  lived  among  them  for  nearly 
twenty- three  years,  and  for  the  greater 
part  of  that  time  having  been  at  the 
head  of  an  Armenian  Boys'  Boarding 
School,  I  have  had  ample  opportunity 
to  learn  how  strong  is  their  national 
feeling  and  how  much  pride  they  take 
in  telling  of  the  antiquity  of  their 
race. 

They  trace  their  origin  to  Haig, 
son  of  Togarmah,  a  great-grandson 
of  Noah  (Gen.  10  :  3),  from  whom 
they  call  themselves  Haiks.  They 
claim  that  Haig  was  one  of  the  over- 
seers in  building  the  Tower  of  Babel, 
and  that  not  being  willing  to  adopt 
the  worship  of  Bel,  the  founder  of 
Babylon,  he  moved  north  and  settled 
among  the  mountains  of  Ararat,  in 
the    land    now    called    Armenia,   in 

honor  of  one  of  their  kings,  a  descendant  of  Haig.     They  also  claim  that  their 
language,  if  not  the  original  tongue,  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  ancient. 

All  this  may  be  true,  and    it  may  not,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  Armenians 
flourished  in  what  is  now  Turkey  long  before  the  Turks,  as  such,  were  even 


R^-         B^^^l        ^f 

^B| 

&&  H  -  w^ 

HAIG,  THE  FOUNDER  OF  THE  ARMENIAN  RACE. 


6o 


Who  Are  the  Armenians  ? 


heard  of,  and  that  they  maintainsd  a  dynasty  of  their  own  for  three  thousand 
years,  or  till  the  fourteenth  century ;  since  which  time  they  have  been  in  sub- 
jection to  the  Turks,  but  have  not  adopted  their  language,  their  religion,  or 
their  customs. 

The  Armenians  were  generally  idolaters  till  about  the  fourth  century,  when 
they  adopted  Christianity  as  their  national  religion,  to  which  they  still  adhere ; 
while  the  Turks  are  all  Mohammedans. 

The  orginal  home  of  the  Armenians  was  in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  around 
Mount  Ararat,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Van,  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Aras  ;  but  they  are  now  widely  scattered  throughout  Turkey,  as  well  as  in 
Russia  and  Persia.  They  are  a  bright,  intelligent  people,  peaceable,  and  chiefly 
engaged  in  agriculture  and  trade.  They  are  among  the  most  enterprising  busi- 
ness men  of  Turkey.     For  mutual  protection  they  live  in  villages  or  cities.     In 


PART    OF    THE    TOWN    OF    BARDEZAG. 


some  parts  of  Armenia  the  villages  are  exceedingly  poor,  the  houses  being  very 
rude,  with  flat  roofs,  and  often  partly  under  ground.  The  one  door  is  very  low, 
through  which  enter  the  fowls,  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  and  buffaloes,  as  well  as  the 
men,  women,  and  children.  A  sample  of  the  better  class  of  villages  may  be  seen 
in  the  accompanying  picture,  which  shows  a  portion  of  Bardezag,  a  town  situated 
about  sixty  miles  southeast  from  Constantinople  among  the  mountains  of  old 
Bithynia.     It  is  purely  an  Armenian  village,  of  about  8,000  inhabitants. 

In  this  village  we  have  had  our  home  for  nearly  thirteen  years,  and  here  too  is 
the  Bardezag  High  School  for  Boys,  in  which  some  of  you  are  interested,  which, 
with  its  excellent  teachers,  superior  course  of  study,  and  invaluable  Self-help 
Department  is  doing  much  to  provide  a  Christian  education  for  Armenian  boys, 
who  come  to  it  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  a  boarding  school,  and  is  the 
only  one  of  its  kind  within  an  area  larger  than  that  of  the  New  England  States. 


Who  Are  tin- .  Xrmenians  .' 


6 1 


The  number  of  pupils  ranges  from  yo  to  13  >.     More  than  400  different  individ- 
uals have  already  been  connected  with  it  as  pupils,  representing  40  difl 

villages  and  cities.  The  course  of  study  includes  all  the  common  b 
together  with  the  higher  mathematics,  natural  s<  iences,  history,  Freni  h,  En 
and  Turkish  ;  also,  daily  lessons  in  the  Bible.  A  skilful  Christian  man  i  5  in 
charge  of  the  Self-help  Department,  and  now  has  about  twenty- five  boys  imd  r 
his  care,  who  work  from  three  to  five  hours  per  day  and  give  the  remainder  of 
their  time  to  study.  The  proceeds  of  their  labor  go  to  pay  their  board.  More 
than  sixty  young  men  have  already  graduated  from  the  institution,  many  of  whom 


CLASS     IN    THE     BARDEZAG     HIGH    SCHOOL. 


are  doing  good  work  as  teachers  and  preachers  among  their  own  people.  The 
picture  above  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  kind  of  boys  who  are  being  educated. 
At  the  time  the  picture  was  taken  they  formed  our  sophomore  class.  Most  of 
them  graduated  in  June,  1890.  If  you  could  only  see  the  boys  as  they  are  when 
they  first  come  to  us,  you  would  understand,  at  once,  what  a  wonderful  change 
Christian  education  brings,  not  only  in  thought  and  feeling,  but  in  personal 
appearance  as  well. 

The  picture  on  the  next  page  shows  a  typical  Armenian  family.  The  old 
patriarch  is  seen  in  the  centre,  leaning  on  his  staff.  His  four  sons  are  seated  on 
either  side,  the  eldest  on  his  right,  while  the  women  and  children  of  the  house- 
hold are  grouped  about  them.  They  all  live  in  one  house,  and  eat  at  one  table. 
As  the  old  father  is  too  feeble  to  manage  their  business,  the  oldest  son  is  now 
the  head  of  the  family ;  all  the  others  being  subject  to  him. 


62 


Who  Are  the  Armenians  ? 


This  family  live  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Nice,  not  far  from  the  old  city  of  Nice, 
famous  for  the  Council  which  assembled  there  in  a.l>.  325. 


One  of  the  hoys  is  a  graduate  of  the  Bardezag  High  School.     You  will   have 
no  difficulty  in  picking  him  out. 


ANCIENT  ARMENIA  AND  THE  ARMENIAN  CHURCH. 


BY   REV.    HERMAN    \.    BARNUM,    U.I'.,    OF    1IAKI T. 


Ancient  Armenia  occupied  a  large  portion  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  present 
Turkish  Empire,  and  a  small  portion  of  Russia  and  Persia.  As  the  region  em- 
braces the  Taurus  and  the  Anti-Taurus  ranges,  it  is  mountainous.  Its  earliest 
history,  like  all  secular  history  of  those  times,  is  traditional  and  uncertain  ;  but  it 
is  claimed  that  the  government  was  one  of  the  earliest  formed,  and  that  it  was 
nearly  cotemporary  with  the  building  of  the  Tower  of  Babel.  It  was  in  close 
relations  with  Assyria  and  Babylon  and  the  empires  of  Cyrus  and  Alexander,  and 
like  them  it  was  subjected  to  great  vicissitudes,  although  its  mountains  were  no 
little  protection  from  invading  foes. 

In  the  fifth  century  of  our  era  Armenia  became  subject  to  Persia,  but  about 
the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  it  was  subdued  by  the  Saracens,  who  restored 
to  it  a  nominal  independence  by  the  Armenians  paying  an  annual  tribute  to 
the  Mohammedan  caliphs  for  about  four  centuries,  until  the  caliphs  were  set 
aside  by  the  Seljukian  Turks,  the  predecessors  of  the  Ottoman  Turks,  who 
are  now  in  authority.  Since  the  eleventh  century  they  have  been  under  Turkish 
dominion. 

The  largest  rivers  are  the  rivers  of  sacred  history,  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris. 
The  former  is  nearly  i,8oo  miles  long.  The  river  at  the  point  shown  in  the 
picture  on  the  next  page  is  about  350  feet  wide.  This  is  five  miles  below  the 
junction  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Euphrates  on  its  passage  through  the  Taurus 
Mountains.  This  is  where  we  have  generally  crossed  the  river  in  going  to  Har- 
poot,  which  is  about  thirty  miles  beyond,  eastward.  There  is  an  occasional 
bridge  on  the  branches  of  the  river,  but  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  one  over  the 
main  stream.  The  ferryboat  is  a  rude  scow,  propelled  by  a  pole  and  a  couple 
of  oars,  which,  with  the  current,  carry  the  boat  diagonally  across,  leaving  it  to  be 
drawn  by  men  and  ropes  up  to  the  proper  landing-place  on  the  opposite  bank. 
The  houses  shown  in  the  cut,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  Tozer's  valuable 
book  on  Turkish  Armenia,  belong  to  the  village  of  Gaban  Maden,  an  out- 
station  of  Harpoot.  The  main  part  of  the  village  lies  to  the  left  of  the  houses 
which  are  seen.     The  building  to  the  right  is  an  unused  Greek  church. 

6; 


64 


Ancient  Armenia  and  the  Armenian  Church. 


The  Tigris  is  about  two  thirds  of  the  length  and  size  of  the  Euphrates.     The 
view  given  on  page  66  is  of  the  Tigris  after  it  has  left  the  mountains  of  Armenia, 


ll 

m 

ll 

,.; 

at  a  point  120  miles  southeast  of  Gaban  Maden,  in  the  picture  above,  and  a 
mile  below  Diarbekir,  which  was  the  missionary  station  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Augustus  Walker.     Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Walker,  in  1S66,  Diarbekir  has  been 


Ancient  Armenia  and  (he  Armenian  Church.  65 

an  out-station  of  Harpoot.  This  was  the  ancient  Amida  ;  and  DO  city  in 
Turkey  has  so  massive  and  so  well  preserred  a  wall  as  this.  The  bridge  was 
doubtless  of  Roman  construction,  but  the  broad  arches  of  the  central  portion 
are  the  repairs  of  some  more  modern  power. 

Armenian  ecclesiastical  history  claims  that  the  "  Greeks,"  mentioned  in  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  John,  who  wished  to  see  Jesus,  were  Armenians,  sent  by  their 
king,  Abgar.  The  apostle  Thaddeus,  assisted  by  Bartholomew  and  Jude,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  herald  of  the  cross  in  that  country.  Many  ancient 
churches  are  by  tradition  ascribed  to  him,  but  the  gospel  had  indifferent  success 
until  about  the  year  300,  when  through  the  influence  of  Saint  Gregory  the  Illumi- 
nator, who  belonged  to  the  royal  family,  Christianity  was  formally  adopted  by  the 
Armenian  government.  This  is  probably  the  first  time  the  Christian  Church  was 
allied  to  the  State ;  and  like  all  such  alliances,  it  was  a  disaster  to  the  church. 
The  Armenians  rejected  the  decisions  of  the  Council  of  Ephesus  in  451,  which 
condemned  the  theory  of  one  nature  in  Christ,  so  they  have  generally  been 
classed  among  those  who  hold  that  Christ's  human  nature  was  absorbed  by 
the  divine,  "just  as  a  drop  of  water  is  lost  in  the  sea,"  and  hence  they 
have  rested  under  the  anathema  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  churches.  In 
doctrine  and  worship  they  resemble  the  Greek  Church,  although  they  are 
more  simple-minded  and  more  easy  of  access  than  the  Greeks.  They  have 
pictures  in  their  churches,  but  not  graven  images.  They  believe  in  the  interces- 
sion of  saints  ;  in  prayers  for  the  dead,  but  not  in  purgatory ;  in  transubstantia- 
tion,  and  in  absolution  through  confession  to  a  priest  and  through  penance. 
Their  priests  must  marry  once,  and  only  once  ;  but  the  higher  clergy  must  never 
marry.  The  priests  are  generally  very  ignorant,  but  ignorance  is  no  barrier  to 
the  priesthood,  as  they  are  not  required  to  preach.  If  they  can  read  the 
prescribed  ritual  for  the  morning  and  evening  service  at  the  church,  and  also  at 
weddings  and  funerals,  no  other  qualification  is  required. 

The  chief  of  the  hierarchy  is  the  Catholicos,  and  he  lives  in  Russian  Armenia. 
The  duties  of  the  Armenian  Patriarch,  who  lives  at  Constantinople,  are,  like 
those  of  the  Greek  Patriarch,  largely  political,  for  each  one  of  the  nationalities 
of  which  Turkey  is  composed  maintains  a  distinct  organization,  and  retains 
certain  prerogatives,  such  as  the  decision  of  questions  pertaining  to  marriage 
and  inheritance,  the  trial  and  punishment  of  the  clergy,  etc.,  although  the 
government  is  gradually  withdrawing  these  privileges.  The  Patriarch,  as  the 
representative  of  his  people  at  the  capital,  also  has  duties  somewhat  like  those 
of  a  foreign  ambassador.  So  the  bishops  whom  he  appoints  over  the  dioceses 
devote  themselves  more  to  the  temporal  than  to  the  spiritual  concerns  of  their 
people.  They  occasionally  preach,  but  this  service  is  more  frequently  performed 
by  vartabeds,  a  class  below  the  bishops,  some  of  whom  receive  special  training 
for  this  office.  In  the  majority  of  churches  preaching  is  seldom  heard,  but  there 
is  a  great  improvement  of  late  years  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  the  character 
of  the  sermons. 

The  reading  of  the  Bible  has  never  been  formally  forbidden,  and  it  is  received 
as  possessing  absolute  authority.  It  was  translated  about  the  year  400.  Parts 
of  it  are  read  or  chanted  in  the   daily  service  of  the  church,  but  the  ancient 


66 


Ancient  Armenia  and  the  Armenian  Church. 


language  is  little  understood,  and  the  tone  in  which  it  is  read  renders  it  still  more 
unintelligible.     The  modern    translation,   made   by  American    missionaries,  has 


, 


■■i!.y 


had  a  very  wide  circulation,  and  it  is  rapidly  preparing  the  way  for  a  complete 
reformation  of  the  Armenian  Church. 


CHILDREN   OF  THE  CONQUERORS. 


BY    REV.    HENRY    O.    DWIGHT,    OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 


Walking  one  day  near  the  castle  of  Roumeli  Hissar,  on  the  Bosphorus.  my 
attention  was  drawn  to  a  group  of  Turkish  boys  playing  by  the  roadside.  They 
were  children  of  some  of  the  families  which  occupy  the  quaint  but  ruinous 
wooden  houses  that  stand  on  the  rocky  slope  within  the  castle  walls.  Perhaps 
the  popular  tradition  is  true,  that  they  are  direct  descendants  of  the  very  men 
placed  in  garrison  in  that  castle  four  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  by  the  conqueror 
of  Constantinople  when  he  had  completed  its  splendid  towers  and  massive  walls, 
as  the  first  step  toward  the  siege  of  the  doomed  city. 

As  I  came  opposite  the  boys  one  of  them  called  out,  much  as  if  he  had  found 
a  squirrel  or  a  bird's  nest :  "Hi!  there  's  a  photograph  machine.  Let 's  have  our 
picture  taken.     Say,  there,  take  our  picture  now  !  " 

This  was  my  summary  introduction  to  Ahmed,  the  taller  of  the  boys  in  the 
group  opposite.  The  mode  of  address  was  rather  brusque,  but  these  boys  are 
taught  that  they  need  not  be  polite  when  speaking  to  a  Christian.  The  uncouth 
form  of  the  request  was  no  reason  for  denying  myself  the  pleasure  of  having  the 
picture,  so  the  camera  was  turned  upon  the  boys.  Just  then  a  tot  of  a  girl  ran 
eagerly  across  the  road  for  a  share  in  whatever  was  going  on.  "  No,  Ayesha," 
cried  Ahmed,  "go  back  !  We  are  having  our  picture  taken."  But  the  frowzle- 
headed  Ayesha  was  just  needed  to  complete  the  group,  and  the  shutter  gave  its 
click  before  Ahmed's  rough  words  could  scare  the  girl  from  his  lordly  presence. 

Since  then  I  have  often  watched  Ahmed  and  have  become  better  acquainted 
with  him  by  his  acts  than  by  the  pleasant  words  that  he  speaks  whenever  I  talk 
to  him.  At  evening  he  will  run  with  every  appearance  of  joy  to  meet  his  father, 
coming  home  in  full  regimentals  from  his  day's  duty  as  rug-spreader  at  the 
palace.  Ahmed  always  kisses  his  father's  hand  and  takes  charge  of  the  bunch 
of  fish  or  the  bundle  of  greens  which  the  old  man  has  brought  from  the  market 
to  be  cooked  for  dinner.  This  kissing  of  the  hand  is  the  token  of  respect  which 
Ahmed  always  shows  to  gentlemen  of  his  acquaintance  provided  they  are  Mo- 
hammedans. Christians,  in  his  eyes,  do  not  deserve  respect.  The  boy  is  a  queer 
compound.  He  uses  bad  language  freely,  but  so  does  his  father.  Neither  of 
them  has  ever  been  taught  to  keep  his  lips  clean.  He  will  tell  lies  without 
imagining  that  there  is  any  wrong  in  telling  lies  for  the  sake  of  some  advantage 
that  he  hopes  from  it.  But  he  will  not  cheat  or  steal  unless  he  is  dealing  with 
one  who  is  not  a  Mohammedan.  He  is  taught  that  the  law  of  Cod  as  to  his 
conduct  relates  to  his  conduct  toward  Mohammedans  only,  and  that  to  others  he 

67 


68 


Children  of  tJic  Conquerors. 


may  act  as  he  sees  fit.  But  he  would  never  think  of  tormenting  a  cat,  tying  a 
tin  can  to  a  dog's  tail,  or  throwing  stones  at  birds,  and  I  have  seen  him  carefully 
feed  a  half-starved  outcast  of  a  kitten  in  the  street  and  work  half  a  morning 
building  a  shelter  for  a  litter  of  puppies  whose  only  home  is  the  mud  of  the 
highway.  I  saw  him  once,  after  a  real  struggle  with  his  own  selfishness,  leave 
his  play  in  order  to  pick  up  a  poor  little  girl  who  had  fallen  and  bumped  her 
nose  on  the  pavement.  He  did  not  know  the  child,  but  he  found  out  where  she 
lived,  wiped  away  her  tears  with  a  rather  doubtful-looking  handkerchief,  and  led 
her  off  to  her  home,  talking  cheerily  to  her  just  as  you  might  expect  to  see  any 
good  manly  boy  do  in  any  Christian  country.     On  the  whole,  Ahmed  attracts  one 


MOHAMMEDAN    SCHOOL   CHILDREN. 


more  by  his  manly  qualities  than  he  repels  by  his  faults  and  his  meannesses.  My 
kindly  feelings  toward  him  had  a  severe  shock  the  other  day  when  I  saw  how  he 
can  treat  his  mother. 

Ahmed  was  playing  marbles  in  the  street,  using  walnuts  instead  of  marbles  as 
the  Turkish  boys  do,  when  his  mother  called  to  him  from  the  latticed  window. 
The  boy  did  not  look  up,  but  merely  said  that  he  was  busy  and  could  not  come. 
His  mother  explained  that  she  needed  some  olive  oil  for  cooking  and  wished  him 
to  tell  the  grocer  to  send  some  up  to  the  house.  What  do  you  think  that  scamp 
of  a  boy  answered?  He  said:  "  Mother,  don't  bother  me.  The  boys  will  be 
here  directly  and  they  will  get  every  walnut  away  from  me  if  I  don't  practise." 

After  a  few  moments  of  silence  the  voice  of  the  poor  tired  woman  was  heard 
again  calling,  "  Ahmed.  Ahmed  !  " 


Children  of  the  Conquerors. 


"Well,  what  now  ;  rant  you  leave  me  alone?" 

"  Ahmed,  I  must  have  that  oil.  If  you  will  go  tor  it,  I  will  give  you  twenty 
paras."  Twenty  paras  is  two  rents,  and  Ahmed  pocketed  his  walnuts  in  a 
moment  and  looked  up  to  the  window. 

"  Will  you,  really  and  truly?"  said  he. 

"  Yes,  I  swear  I  will." 

"All  right.     You  give  me  the  money  first  and  then  I  will  go." 

"No  ;  you  go,  and  when  you  come  back  I  will  give  you  the  money." 

"  You  can't  play  that  on  me,"  said  Ahmed  coolly  ;  and  he  went  back  to  his  play. 

This  brought  the  mother  to  terms.     She  gave  him  the  twenty  paras  and  Ahmed 

walked  leisurely  down  the  street  whistling  a  ballad,  while  my  hands  fairly  ached 

to  give  him  a  sharp  lesson 
— — ~ ~ .  .  Tr- 

over  his  ears.     But  just  as 

Ahmed  reached  the  corner 
six  hoys  appeared  carrying 
two  little  wooden  cages  con- 
taining goldfinches  and  a 
bunch  of  birdlimes.  "Come 
on,  Ahmed  !  "  shouted  one 
of  them,  "  the  birds  are 
thick  in  the  fields  to-day. 
We  shall  catch  a  lot." 

"  Just  wait  a  minute  and 
I'll  come,"  answered 
Ahmed.  Then  he  ran  back 
to  his  house,  thrust  the 
twenty  paras  into  his  aston- 
ished mother's  hand,  saying, 
"  Here,  take  your  money  ! 
I  can't  go."  And  he  was 
off  like  a  shot  to  join  the 
other  boys. 

Nevertheless  the  boy 
really  loves  his  mother,  and 
when  he  grows  older  he  will 
show  her  more  respect.  The 
trouble  is  that  he  has  been 
brought  up  to  consider  him- 
self as  the  most  important 
member  of  the  family,  next 
to  his  father,  so  he  expects  others  to  wait  upon  him.  He  will  hardly  ever  con- 
descend to  help  his  mother  or  his  sisters,  even  in  carrying  the  heavy  jugs  of 
water  from  the  fountain.  To  try  to  save  them  steps  or  hard  work  would  seem 
to  Ahmed  as  queer  as  it  would  be  to  offer  to  do  work  for  the  housemaid  in 
order  to  save  her  from  becoming  tired. 

Ahmed  and  his  companions  in  this  group  are  fair  specimens  of  Mohammedan 
boys,  as  one  sees  them  in  Constantinople.     These  children  all  go  to  school  every 


MOHAMMEDAN    SCHOOL    BOYS    IN    HOLIDAY    ATTIRE. 


70 


Children  of  the  Conqticrors. 


day  except  Friday  in  the  little  vaulted  schoolhouse  which  has  the  paper  placard 
over  the  door.  The  placard  sets  forth,  in  fine  Turkish  writing,  that  this  school  is 
maintained  by  the  fund  given  by  Mustafa  Pasha,  "  the  Shepherd  and  the  Con- 
queror." In  this  school  the  children  learn  to  recite,  without  understanding  them, 
Arabic  psalms  from  the  Koran,  to  read  and  write,  and  to  do  simple  sums  in 
arithmetic.     With  the  most  of  the  children  their  education  ends  here. 

The  most  curious  and  perhaps  the  saddest  thing  about  these  children  is  that 
they  are  taught  that  until  they  are  fourteen  years  old  neither  they  nor  their 
acts  nor  their  words  are 
noticed  by  God,  because 
they  are  only  children. 
Children  among  these 
Mohammedans,  in  fact, 
have  no  religion.  The 
older  boys  go  with  their 
fathers  to  the  mosque 
on  Friday  in  order  to 
practise  the  bowings  and 
kneelings  and  the  recita- 
tion of  the  Arabic  psalms 
which  are  a  part  of  their 
worship.  But  the  boys 
soon  tire  of  standing  up 
in  a  line  with  the  men  in 
the  mosque,  and  run  out 
into  the  courtyard  to 
play  marbles  or  tag  until 
the  service  is  over,  and 
they  can  all  go  out  for  a 
picnic  or  for  a  boat  ride. 

The  part  of  religion 
which  the  children  like 
the  best  is  the  fast  of 
Ramazan,  unless  it  is  the 
feast  of  Bairam,  which 
follows  this  long  fast  as 
Easter  follows  Lent.     It 

may  seem  curious  to  some  that  a  fast  should  be  so  much  enjoyed.  The  fact  is 
that  in  that  fast  and  because  of  the  fast  there  is  more  to  eat  and  more  variety  of 
things  to  eat  in  the  house  than  at  any  other  time  of  the  year.  The  children 
under  fourteen  do  not  have  to  fast  at  all.  After  sunset  and  until  sunrise  the 
whole  family,  grown  folks  as  well  as  children,  stuff  themselves  with  all  sorts  of 
delicacies  and  spend  the  night  in  all  kinds  of  entertainments  to  make  up  for  the 
pains  of  the  fast  during  the  daylight  hours.  At  the  feast  of  Bairam  all  the  chil- 
dren are  dressed  out  in  new  clothes.  Then  you  will  see  the  boys  dressed  as 
major-generals  in  the  army,  and  perhaps  crying  at  their  mother's  skirts  in  the 
streets  because  they  want  to  be  carried.     Girls  will  be  dressed  in  red  or  yellow 


MOHAMMEDAN    GIRL  AT    FOUNTAIN. 


Children  of  the  Conquerors. 


71 


or  blue  silk,  and  together  they  will  be  found  gadding  about  the  streets  and  stuff- 
ing themselves  with  candy  from  morning  to  night  for  the  three  days  of  Bairam. 
There  will  be  merry-go-rounds  on  all  the  squares,  and  horses  and  carriagi 
hire     to    the    children    on    all 
the     principal    corners    at    a 
penny    a    ride.      In    fact    the 
feast  of   Bairam  seems  to  be 
the    children's    feast     almost 
more    than  it  is  the  feast   of 
the  grown-up  people. 

One  consequence  of  the 
idea  that  these  children  have 
no  need  to  pray  or  do  any 
religious  duty  until  they  are 
fourteen  years  old  is  that  the 
Mohammedan  boys  have  no 
helps  to  lead  manly  lives, 
such  as  Sunday-school  or 
Christian  Endeavor  meetings, 
or  such  as  helpful  books  and 
papers.  Do  you  ask  why  the 
missionaries  do  not  teach 
Ahmed  and  his  companions 
a  better  way?  If  they  were 
to  try  it,  the  police  would 
interfere,  and  if  Ahmed  were 
to  persist  in  coming  to  Sunday- 
school  or  to  church,  he  would 
be  taken  by  the  police  to 
his  father  to  be  flogged  or  he 
would  be  shut  up  in  prison. 
Pray  that  the  time  may  come 
when  even  Ahmed  and  his 
companions  may  be  free  to 
learn  of  the  pure  and  meek  and  lowly  Jesus,  that  their  lives  may  be  as  noble  aa 
you  can  see  from  their  faces  that  they  might  be. 


TURKISH    WOMEN. 


THE  MARTYR  OF  LEBANON. 


"That  goodly  mountain,  Lebanon,"  is  still,  as  in  Bible  times,  exceeding  white, 
as  its  name  signifies.  The  average  height  of  the  range  is  from  six  thousand  to 
eight  thousand  feet,  while  its  loftiest  peaks  tower  to  nine  thousand  and  ten 
thousand  feet,  and  are  seen  afar  by  land  and  sea,  shining  in  perpetual  splendors 
of  ice  and  snow.  On  the  western  side  the  mountains  descend  to  the  Mediterra- 
nean by  broad  terraces,  broken  with  deep  ravines.  Neither  has  "  the  glory  of 
Lebanon  "  passed  away  from  its  fruits  and  vines  and  cedars,  its  gorgeous  flowers 
and  cold-flowing  waters.  The  scenery  is  most  romantic,  the  air  delightful,  the 
vegetation  luxuriant,  and  hundreds  of  villages  cling  to  the  cliffs  or  hide  amid 
the  labyrinths  of  rock. 

About  the  year  1797,  there  was  born  at  Hadet,  near  the  foot  of  Lebanon,  and 
a  few  miles  from  Beirut,  a  boy  who  was  called  Assad  Shidiak.  His  parents  were 
of  Arab  descent,  and  belonged  to  the  religious  sect  called  Maronites,  who, 
though  Roman  Catholics  and  acknowledging  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  have 
certain  peculiarities  of  their  own.  Assad  grew  up  a  bright  and  studious  boy,  and 
was  sent  to  the  best  Maronite  college  on  the  mountains,  where  he  was  graduated 
with  the  highest  honors.  He  then  entered  successively  the  service  of  the  bishop 
and  of  several  sheiks,  and  finally  offered  his  services  to  his  former  college 
instructor,  who  had  been  raised  to  the  Patriarchal  chair.  Here  he  arranged  a 
code  of  church  laws  for  the  Maronites,  which  has  since  been  adopted  for  general 
use. 

In  March,  1825,  Assad  came  to  the  American  Mission  at  Beirut,  asking 
employment.  He  was  a  well-dressed  young  Syrian  gentleman,  of  fine  face  and 
easy  manners,  and  proved  to  be  shrewd,  sensible,  and  inquisitive.  Dr.  Jonas 
King  engaged  him  as  his  Arabic  teacher,  and  when  this  engagement  closed 
Assad  opened  an  Arabic  school  for  boys  in  Beirut.  He  used  his  leisure  in 
writing  against  the  Protestant  doctrines,  and  began  to  study  the  Bible  for  new 
arguments.  But  he  afterward  wrote  :  "  As  I  was  reading  an  appendix  to  a  copy 
of  the  Bible  printed  at  Rome  by  the  Propaganda,  and  searching  out  the  passages 
referred  to  for  proving  the  duty  of  worshiping  saints,  and  other  similar  doctrines, 
I  found  that  these  proofs  failed  altogether  of  establishing  these  doctrines,  and 
that  to  infer  them  from  such  Scripture  texts  was  even  worthy  of  ridicule. 
Among  other  things,  I  found  in  this  appendix  the  very  horrible  Neronian 
doctrine  that  it  is  our  duty  to  destroy  heretics.  Now,  every  one  knows  that 
whoever  does  not  believe  that  the  Pope  is  infallible  is,  in  the  Pope's  estimation, 
a  heretic.  And  this  doctrine  is  not  merely  that  it  is  allowable  to  kill  heretics, 
but  that  we  are  bound  in  duty  to  do  it." 


The  Martyr  of  Lebanon. 


n 


From  this  time  Assad  searched  the  Scriptures,  and  Boon  Eound  himself  a 
Protestant.  In  January,  [826,  the  Patriarch  beard  of  it  and  sent  for  him,  and 
with  the  priests  tried  to  induce  him  to  say  that  his  faith  was  that  of    Rome. 


Assad  declined,  as  it  would  be  untrue.  The  Patriarch  offered  to  absolve  him 
from  the  sin  of  falsehood.  Assad  replied  that  no  man  could  make  falsehood 
lawful,  and  the  weakness  of  the  Patriarch's  arguments  greatly  strengthened  him 
in  his  new  views.  He  was  severely  threatened  and  abused,  and  after  weeks  of 
fruitless  controversy  he  left  secretly  for  Beirut.  In  March  he  wrote  an  account 
of  these  discussions  and  of  the  treatment  he  had  received,  which  was  published 


74 


The  Martyr  of  Lebanon. 


at  Malta  and  was  never  contradicted.  The  Missionary  Herald  for  1827,  and 
for  a  few  subsequent  years,  gives  extended  accounts  of  Assad,  including  his  own 
statements  and  reports  of  the  missionaries. 

But  again  the  Patriarch  wrote,  begging  Assad  to  return  to  his  anxious  family  at 
Hadet,  and  assuring  him  of  full  liberty.  Assad  was  artless  and  confiding,  and 
thought  a  door  of  usefulness  was  now  opened  to  him.  At  Beirut  he  could  only 
use  his  pen  —  "  But  who  is  there  in  this  country  that  reads  ?  "  asked  he.  So  on 
the  sixteenth  of  March,  1826,  he  went  back  to  his  father's  house.     He  was  coldly 

received,  and  twenty  of  his  rel- 
atives assembled  and  carried  him 
off  by  force,  as  if  he  had  been  a 
murderer,  to  the  Patriarch.  Poor 
Assad  wept  and  prayed  over  their 
cruelty,  but  said  :  "  It  is  just  what 
the  gospel  has  told  me  to  expect ; 
the  brother  shall  deliver  up  the 
brother  to  death,  and  a  man's 
foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own 
household." 

He  was  soon  conveyed  to  the 
convent  of  Canobeen,  situated  in 
one  of  the  wildest  recesses  of 
Lebanon.  There  a  cousin  of  his 
afterward  saw  him,  sitting  on  a 
bare  floor,  in  a  room  without  a 
bed,  chained  to  the  wall,  and 
deprived  of  books  and  writing 
utensils.  His  mother  would  not 
believe  that  the  Patriarch  could 
treat  him  so  inhumanly  till  she 
herself  went  to  Canobeen  and 
saw  his  sufferings  with  her  own 
eyes.  From  that  time  forth  Assad's  family  sought  to  set  him  free,  and  with 
their  aid  he  made  several  attempts  to  escape  ;  but  his  ignorance  of  the  steep 
and  hidden  mountain-paths  was  against  him,  and  he  was  always  recaptured. 

One  of  his  Maronite  acquaintances  wrote  thus  of  one  of  these  returns  :  "  We 
beat  him  enough  to  have  killed  him,  but  he  did  not  die.  We  broke  several 
green  sticks  upon  him,  yet  all  this  he  bore  patiently  and  did  not  speak  a  bad 
word.  This  power  of  forbearance  was  from  the  Satan  that  was  dwelling  in  him.  He 
imitated  Saint  Stephen,  saying,  '  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge.'  All  this 
as  though  he  were  a  devil  incarnate.  Some  of  the  priests  used  to  say  :  '  O  Assad, 
just  declare  that  you  are  a  Maronite,  and  you  shall  go  free  ! '  But  the  obstinate 
fellow  would  not  lie.  He  had  this  peculiar  custom  that  he  would  never  tell  a  lie. 
Once  they  brought  a  crucifix  and  coals  of  fire  and  beat  him,  saying,  '  Either  kiss 
the  crucifix  or  the  fire.'  He  kissed  the  fire,  but  would  not  kiss  the  crucifix  ;  but 
he  raised  the  crucifix  over  his  head,  saying,  « I  honor  the  One  who  was  put  to 
death  on  the  cross.'  " 


A  YOUNG   SYRIAN    GENTLEMAN. 


The  Martyr  of  Lebanon. 


75 


Those  who  passed  by  the  convent  heard  the  groans  of  poor  Assad,  and  heard 
him  cry  :  "  Love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  according  as  he  hath  loved  us  and  given 
himself  to  die  for  us  !  Think  of  me,  O  ye  that  pass  by  !  have  pity  on  me,  and 
deliver  me  !  "  On  one  occasion,  when  his  captors  had  bound  and  beaten  him, 
they  drove  him  before  them  like  a  slave  to  Canobeen.  One  of  the  resident 
priests  wrote  as  follows  to  a  sheik  who  was  a  friend  of  our  missionaries:  "On 
Assad's  arrival  the  Patriarch  gave  immediate  orders  for  his  punishment,  and  they 
fell  upon  him,  caning  him  and  striking  him  with  their  hands;  and  so  it  was 
that  as  often  as  they  struck  him  on  one  cheek  he  turned  to  them  the  other  also. 
'This,'  said  he,  •  is  a  joyful  day  to  me.  My  blessed  Lord  and  Master  has  said  : 
"Bless  them  that  curse  you,  and,  if  they  strike  you  on  the  right  cheek,  turn  to 
them  the  left  also."     This  I  have  been  enabled  to  do  ;  and  I  am  ready  to  suffer 


THE  CONVENT  OF   CANOBEEN,    MT.    LEBANON. 


even  more  than  this  for  him  who  was  beaten  and  spit  upon  and  led  as  a  sheep  to 
the  slaughter  on  our  account.'  When  they  heard  this  they  fell  to  beating  him 
anew,  saying,  'Have  we  need  of  your  preaching?  .  .  .  Your  salvation  is  by 
faith  alone  in  Christ;  thus  you  cast  contempt  on  his  mother  and  on  his  saints.' 
And  they  threw  him  on  the  ground  and  overwhelmed  him  with  the  multitude  of 
their  blows." 

The  last  time  that  Assad  was  retaken  he  was  thrown  into  a  filthy  room,  loaded 
with  chains,  bastinadoed  every  day  for  eight  days,  sometimes  fainting  under  the 
infliction,  and  then  was  left  alone  in  his  misery,  half  dead.  The  door  of  his 
stone  dungeon  was  walled  up  with  stones  and  mortar,  and  no  access  was  left  save 
a  small  loophole  through  which  a  little  bread  and  water  were  passed  to  him. 

A  humane  priest  at  length  succeeded  in  prevailing  with  the  Patriarch  to  let 
him  open  the  door  and  take  off  the  irons.  Again  every  argument  was  used  with 
Assad  in  vain,  till  the  Patriarch  broke  out :  "You  love  to  show  your  contempt 
of  the  cross  and  of  the  holy  images  whose  worship  is  only  in  honor  of  those  who 
labored  and  died  in  the  service  of   Christ."      Assad  answered  :    "  Thou  shalt 


76 


The  Martyr  of  Lebanon. 


worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve;  and  as  to  those  who 
labored  and  shed  their  blood  for  their  Saviour,  they  are  above  our  honors,  for 
they  are  gone  to  inherit  unspeakable  honor  and  glory  in  their  Master's  presence." 
Whereupon  the  angry  Patriarch  beat  both  him  and  the  friendly  priest  with  his 
slipper. 

Here  ended  the  priest's  account  to  his  friend  the  sheik.  After  this,  little  was 
known  of  Assad's  sufferings  till  1S2S,  when  his  brother  found  him  walled  up  in 
the  dungeon,  and  begged  him  to  return  to  the  faith  of  his  fathers.     In  reply 

Assad  preached  to  him  to  repent 
and  turn  to  God,  telling  him  that 
time  is  short  and  the  future  life  is 
eternal.  In  1S29  a  friend  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  him  which 
Assad  said  would  be  his  last. 
"  My  days  are  passed  away  as  a 
shadow.  My  thoughts  are  scat- 
tered," wrote  the  sufferer.  And 
no  wonder  !  For  at  least  three 
years  he  had  endured,  both  in 
mind  and  body,  all  that  a  man 
could  endure  and  live.  Reports 
of  his  death  began  to  come,  and 
the  Patriarch  sent  word  to  his 
family  that  he  had  died  of  fever 
on  the  twenty-fifth  of  October. 
Other  accounts  hinted  that  he 
died  suddenly,  and  yet  others 
that  the  filth  of  his  dungeon  and 
the  meagreness  of  his  diet  were 
the  cause.  A  devoted  Maronite 
told  our  missionaries  that  after 
his  death  the  walled-up  door  was 
broken  down,  the  body  of  Assad  taken  out  and  carried  to  the  foot  of  a  mountain 
terrace,  and  the  wall  of  the  terrace  thrown  down  upon  it. 

This  was  the  earthly  side.  On  the  heavenly  side,  we  may  be  sure,  there  were 
angel  ministrants  to  bear  the  freed  spirit  home  to  its  glorious  reward,  and  to 
crown  him  with  everlasting  joy  in  the  presence  of  that  blessed  Redeemer  whose 
faithful  witness  and  martyr  he  had  been. 


A    MARONITE    PATRIARCH. 


THE  KUZZEL-BASH   KOORDS. 

BY   REV.    H.   N.    KAKKIM,    ]>.!>.,    OF    HARI'OoT,    EASTERN   TURKEY. 


A  PECULIARITY  of  the 
different  races  in  Turkey 
is  that  they  do  not 
amalgamate.  They  have 
come  along  down  the 
centuries  as  separate  and 
distinct  streams,  seldom 
commingling  at  any 
point.  The  Koords  are 
supposed  to  be  the 
Carduchi,  whom  Xeno- 
phon  mentions  as  oppos- 
ing the  Ten  Thousand 
in  their  memorable  re- 
treat  four  hundred  years 
before  the  Christian  era. 
They  still  dwell  among 
the  mountains,  as  they 
did  in  ancient  times, 
and  they  constitute  a 
large  part  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  Turkish 
Empire. 

The  Koords  who  in- 
habit the  Dersim,  that 
part  of  the  Anti-Taurus 
just  north  of  us,  are 
called  Kuzzel-bash,  or 
Red-head.  I  never  un- 
derstood the  significance 
of  the  name.  They  are 
divided  into  about  fifty 

separate  tribes,  each  with  a  chief,  not  unlike  the  feudal  system  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  For  many  centuries  each  tribe  has  been  a  practically  independent  power, 
and  even  now  they  are  only  in  partial  subjection  to  the  government.    They  regard 

77 


A    KOORD. 


78 


The  Kuzzel-bash  Koords. 


any  attempt  to  control  them  as  an  unjust  invasion  of  their  rights,  to  which  they 
submit  only  by  compulsion.  Sometimes  they  pay  taxes,  sometimes  not ;  but 
they  decline  to  furnish  men  for  the  army.  The  government  proposes  to  send 
soldiers  among  them  this  year  to  bring  them  into  closer  allegiance. 


The  Koords  generally  are  zealous  Mohammedans,  but  the  Kuzzel-bash  are 
such  only  in  name.  According  to  tradition  they  had  a  Christian  ancestry  ;  and 
this  is  confirmed  by  the  numerous  ruins  of  churches  and  monasteries  which  are 
found  in  that  region.     They  do  not  observe  the  five  daily  Moslem  prayers  and 


The  Kuzzel-bash  Koords.  79 

the  ablutions  which  precede  prayer,  but  they  pray  extemporaneously.  So,  too, 
they  do  not  keep  the  fast  of  the  month  Rama/an,  but  they  have  a  fast  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  clays  of  their  own.  bike  the  Moslems,  they  practice  circumcision  and 
polygamy,  but  do  not  allow  divorce.  Many  of  them  are  pantheists.  Some  of 
them  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  and  others  believe  that  the  soul 
returns  to  its  original  source,  that  is,  God.  They  have  no  written  language  and 
no  literature,  although  a  few  have  learned  to  read  Turkish.  Their  religious 
teachers  are  called  seyids.  Their  office  is  hereditary,  like  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood, and  they  are  greatly  reverenced,  although  very  ignorant.  Like  the  Persian 
Mohammedans,  they  profess  great  veneration  for  Ali,  the  son-in-law  of  Moham- 
med, who,  they  say,  was  divine.  Some  say  that  Christ  came  into  the  world  a 
second  time  in  the  person  of  Ali,  and  others  that  the  name  Ali  was  used  instead 
of  Christ's  name  by  their  ancestors,  who  accepted  Mohammedanism  only  as  a 
form,  simply  as  a  blind  to  the  Moslems  and  as  a  veil  to  conceal  their  Christianity. 
The  exact  truth  cannot  be  determined. 

A  select  number,  those  who  are  free  from  glaring  faults  and  are  supposed  to 
lead  an  upright  life,  constitute  a  sort  of  church.  Membership  is  not  easily 
acquired.  A  man  who  wishes  to  join  must  come  on  his  hands  and  knees,  must 
confess  his  faults  and  be  forgiven.  He  cannot  be  received  without  his  wife.  If 
he  commits  some  great  offence  he  is  turned  out,  and  his  membership  is  regained 
with  great  difficulty.  A  second  excommunication  is  final.  This  chosen  body 
has  occasional  secret  meetings  on  Friday  evenings,  at  which  bread  and  water 
are  passed  around  after  the  manner  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  This  may  perhaps 
be  a  relic  of  the  Christian  communion  I  believe  that  in  regions  where  wine  is 
found  it  is  used  instead  of  water. 

A  few  weeks  ago  I  had  a  call  from  four  of  the  leading  men  of  that  district. 
They  had  come  here  by  invitation  of  our  governor-general.  After  they  had 
made  profession  of  allegiance  to  the  government  of  the  sultan,  the  pasha  gave 
to  each  one  of  them  a  suit  of  clothes,  besides  making  them  other  valuable  pres- 
ents. He  also  had  their  photographs  taken,  clad  in  their  new  garments,  to  send 
to  the  sultan.  The  picture  on  the  opposite  page  is  a  copy  from  that  photograph. 
The  second  man  from  the  left  is  one  of  the  most  venerated  of  all  the  seyids,  by 
the  name  of  Ibrahim.  He  wears  a  gorgeous  red  mantle,  heavily  trimmed  with 
gold  braid.  The  old  man  to  the  right  of  him  is  Yusef  Agha,  one  of  the  most 
influential  chiefs  of  the  mountains.  On  a  visit  to  his  village  many  years  ago  I 
was  much  impressed  by  the  dignity  and  apparently  high  character  of  his  wife,  as 
she  pleaded  that  we  include  the  Koords  among  the  people  whom  we  try  to  bless 
with  education.  We  tried  a  brief  experiment,  but  it  was  not  successful.  Tribal 
feuds  and  fear  of  the  government  keep  these  people  in  a  state  of  almost  per- 
petual ferment.  The  man  at  the  extreme  right  is  Yusef  Agha's  son.  He  looks 
almost  as  old  as  his  father. 

These  men  called  upon  me  just  after  they  had  visited  the  different  departments 
of  the  college.  They  were  much  impressed,  especially  by  what  they  saw  in  the 
female  department,  and  said  that  they  were  reminded  of  their  own  ignorance 
and  backwardness  as  a  race.  ^Vith  a  Christian  civilization  this  people  would 
become  one  of  the  finest  races  of  the  empire,  but  at  present  they  do  not  seem 


8o 


The  Kiizzcl-bash  Koords. 


to  be  particularly  open  to  religious  and  moral  impressions.  They  live  among 
lofty,  rugged  mountains,  where  there  is  very  little  arable  land,  and  they  are  very 
poor.     Many  of  them  live  by  plunder. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  the  Harpoot  field  a  good  many  nominal  Christians 
—  Armenians  and  Jacobites  —  live  among  the  Koords.  They  are  extremely 
ignorant.  In  appearance,  in  dress,  in  character,  in  language,  in  everything  except 
the  name  and  some  of  the  rites  of  Christianity  they  are  essentially  Koords. 
About  twenty  years  ago  the  Harpoot  Evangelical  Union  commenced  a  missionary 
work  in  that  part  of  Koordistan,  and  it  is  continued  with  a  good  degree  of 
success  to  the  present  time,  with  the  aid  of  the  other  evangelical  churches  of 
this  country.     In  missionary  work  one  of  the  first  things  is  to  give  the  people  the 


TRANSLATORS   OF  THE    K00RDISH    BIBLE. 


Bible  in  their  own  language,  and  then  teach  them  to  read  it.  The  New  Testa- 
ment was  soon  translated,  and  it  was  published  by  the  American  Bible  Society, 
which  has  always  been  a  most  efficient  helper  in  the  missionary  work ;  but  the 
translation  did  not  prove  to  be  a  good  one.  The  Bible  Society  proposes  to  pub- 
lish a  new  translation.  The  picture  on  this  page  represents  the  three  men  who 
are  doing  the  work.  The  one  in  the  centre  became  the  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Redwan.  He  is  now  the  acting  pastor  of  the  Diarbekir  church,  but  he  still  helps 
on  the  work  in  Koordistan.  The  man  at  the  right  of  the  picture  preaches  in 
Redwan,  and  the  one  at  the  left  at  Farkin.  The  Koords  of  that  district  are  not 
Kuzzel-bash,  but  the  language  of  both  districts  is  essentially  the  same,  and  the 
new  translation  will  avail,  we  hope,  for  the  whole  of  Koordistan. 


£a*.^&to? 


SOME  VILLAGES  IN   KOORDISTAN. 


BY    REV.   J.    L.    BARTON,    D.D. 


The  boys  and  girls  in  Turkey,  who  study  in  schools  which  the  children  in 
America  help  to  sustain,  are  themselves  interested  in  a  mission  work  in  Koord- 
istan  and  in  schools  which  they  help  to  support  in  that  country.     Koordistan  is 


A    KOORDlSH     MERCHANT. 


to  the  east  of  Asia  Minor.  Among  the  Koords,  within  the  limit  of  the  Eastern 
Turkey  Mission,  live  about  100,000  Armenians,  who  once  spoke  their  own  Arme- 
nian language  and  believed  in  the  Christian  religion  ;  but  they  have  lost  their 

81 


82 


Some  Villages  in  Koordistan. 


language  now,  and  know  only  Koordish.  Their  former  Christianity  has  met  with 
about  the  same  fate  as  their  tongue.  Many  have  become  the  same  as  the  Koords 
with  whom  they  dwell. 

Among  these  Koordish-speaking  Armenians  the  Protestant  Armenian  churches 
in  Turkey  have  opened  a  home  mission  work  which  promises  to  reclaim  this  lost 
branch  of  the  Armenian  race  and  restore  them  to  their  nation  and  lead  them 
back  to  Christ. 

There  are  now  six  flourishing  schools  opened  in  various  centres,  and  many 
other   places   desire  teachers.     The   picture  on    this    page    shows    one  of   the 


CHURCH     AND    SCHOOLHOUSE    AT    KILISE,     KOORDISTAN. 


chapels  and  schoolhouses  of  that  country.  It  is  in  Kilise,  where  nearly  the 
entire  village  has  become  Protestant.  The  part  upon  which  boys  are  sitting  is 
the  church.  The  wing  upon  the  right,  which  extends  back  even  with  the  church 
in  the  rear,  is  the  schoolhouse.  This  poor  people  put  up  these  buildings  last 
year,  paying  most  of  the  expenses  themselves.  The  Home  Mission  Society 
helped  them  with  $65  only.  The  pulpit  and  chair  and  stand  were  brought  upon 
the  backs  of  mules  over  forty  miles.  The  outside  door  is  one  solid  black-walnut 
plank,  brought  thirty  miles.  Glass  is  too  expensive  for  this  country.  There  are 
inside  shutters  to  the  windows  and  iron  crossbars,  as  you  see  ;  for  this  is  a  land 
of  thieves  and  robbers ;  and  the  Bible,  and  the  straw  mats  upon  which  they  sit 
upon  the  ground  (for  there  are  no  floors  in  this  country),  would  be  stolen  if  not 
thus  protected. 


Some  Villages  in  Koordistan. 


83 


The  buildings  are  made  of  sun-dried  brick.  These  bricks  arc  about  twelve 
inches  square  and  three  inches  thick.  After  drying  in  the  sun  for  a  week  or 
more  they  are  built  into  the  wall  and  plastered  together  with  clay  mud.  For  the 
roof,  large  timbers  are  laid  across  nearly  level  and  boarded  on  top  or  covered 
with  branches  of  trees.  Over  this  is  packed  a  foot  or  more  of  earth,  whi<  h  1, 
plastered  over  with  mud.  This  kind  of  roof  sheds  rain,  if  it  is  carefully  rolled 
with  a  heavy  stone  roller  every  time  rain  begins.  You  see,  it  was  an  easy  thing 
tor  l'eter  to  go  upon  the  housetop  to  pray. 

A  few  months  ago  I  was  present  at  a  communion  service  in  this  little  chapel, 


~t  V 


RUINS    OF    AN     ANCIENT    CHURCH     AT    FARKIN. 


and  twenty-one  persons  then  united  with  the  church.  Many  came  in  from  six  of 
the  near  villages,  and,  as  the  country  is  full  of  dangerous  characters,  each  man 
brought  his  gun,  a  heavy  club,  a  dirk-knife,  a  shield,  and  some  had  swords. 
These  arms  were  stacked  inside  the  door  during  service,  and  the  little  chapel, 
packed  with  nearly  200  eager  listeners,  looked  something  like  an  arsenal. 

I  said  the  name  of  the  village  is  Kilise.  This  means,  in  Turkish,  "church." 
Those  who  study  Greek  can  trace  the  word.  This  village  is  new,  being  only 
forty  or  fifty  years  old.  But  as  they  dig  in  the  vicinity  ruins  of  old  buildings, 
wells,  and  groves  are  found.  When  they  began  to  excavate  for  this  chapel  it  was 
found  that  there  was  once  a  church  upon  this  very  site.  It  is  known  that  the 
foundation  is  that  of  a  church,  for  the  altar  is  toward  the  east,  as  all  of  the  old 


84  Some  ll/lagcs  in  Koordistan. 

churches  of  this  land  were  built.  The  people  have  a  strong  superstition  that 
prayer,  to  be  acceptable,  must  be  made  toward  the  east.  This  is  possibly  a  relic 
of  Persian  fire-worship.  All  of  the  nominal  Christians  now  build  their  churches 
in  this  way ;  and  one  of  the  charges  formerly  brought  against  Protestants  was 
that  "  they  pray  in  all  directions."  This  chapel,  in  which  Christ  is  now  preached, 
is  built  upon  the  foundation  of  an  old  church  whose  history  no  one  knows. 

Those  sitting  upon  the  roof  are  mostly  pupils  in  the  school.  The  teacher, 
Aproham,  who  is  also  the  preacher,  is  stretching  his  hand  out  toward  the  village. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  introduce  you  to  many  of  the  persons  in  this  picture, 
but  space  will  not  permit.  The  children  have  to  learn  Armenian  from  the  first, 
as  their  natural  language,  Koordish,  has  no  letters  and  so  no  boo^s.  They  sing 
very  nicely,  and  many  of  them  can  translate  at  sight  the  Armenian  Bible  into 
Koordish.     They  study  Armenian,  arithmetic,  the  Testament,  catechism,  etc. 

This  country  of  Koordistan  is  filled  with  wonderful  ruins.  On  its  western 
border  is  an  inscription  upon  the  face  of  a  cliff  which  was  written  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar when  he  came  to  conquer  this  country  at  one  time.  In  the  city  of  Farkin, 
only  five  miles  from  Kilise,  there  are  most  magnificent  ruins  of  churches,  castles, 
and  towers. 

The  picture  on  the  preceding  page  shows  a  part  of  what  was  once  a  most 
beautiful  church.  The  columns  are  about  twelve  feet  long  and  over  two  feet  in 
diameter.  There  is  a  corresponding  series  of  arches  above  those  shown  in  the 
picture.  This  church  is  closely  surrounded  with  a  great  many  graves,  thousands 
of  them,  so  that  the  church  is  often  spoken  of  as  "  the  church  of  martyrs."  This 
and  another  church  and  the  mosque  spoken  of  above  are  all  within  the  heavy 
double  walk  of  the  old  citadel.  The  entire  present  city  is  now  within  these  walls. 
I  have  many  such  pictures  I  would  like  to  show  you. 

Within  the  field  of  this  Home  Mission  Society  are  large  walled  cities  now 
entirely  in  ruins  ;  a  city  whose  houses  are  cut  out  of  living  rock  and  which  are 
now  occupied  ;  bridges  and  ruins  of  bridges  built  by  the  Romans  i  ,Soo  years  ago, 
and  many  other  such  things.  But  the  most  interesting  of  all  are  the  poor  people, 
who  know  nothing  of  this  early  history  or  of  the  salvation  which  Christ  brought 
to  the  world.  They  have  no  Bible,  as  yet,  and  live  in  ignorance  and  crime.  It 
is  a  sad  land  to  look  upon,  the  greatest  ruin  of  which  is  its  people.  This 
Society  is  endeavoring,  with  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  restore  this  ruin  to 
something  of  its  former  grandeur. 


PALSIED    HATOON    OF   MARASH. 

I!Y    MISS    CORINNA    SHATTUCK,    OF    CENTRAL   TURKEY    (URLs'    COLLEGE. 


V 


It  seems  fitting  that  some  one  send  for  the  young  people  of  the  United  States 
a  brief  account  of  the  one  whose  life,  despite  most  unfavorable  circumstances 
and  surroundings,  has  been  very  beautifully  interesting.  Our  friend  through  long 
years  was  known  as  "  Palsied  Hatoon."  While  yet  quite  young,  she  suffered 
from  a  form  of  disease  that  left  her  without  the  use  of  her  lower  limbs.  Her 
mother  carried  her  about  on  her  back,  and 
she  could  sit  on  the  cushions  upon  the 
floor.  But  after  a  few  more  years  she  was 
confined  to  her  couch,  unable  to  turn  or 
be  turned,  or  to  lift  her  head  from  the  pil- 
low. Her  mother  was  a  widow  and  of  the 
poorest  of  our  people,  while  her  brothers 
were  in  the  same  condition,  with  large 
families  dependent  upon  them. 

The  old  mother  spun  cotton  when  by  a 
week's  work  a  few  cents  could  be  earned. 
Sometimes  she  sat  most  uneasily  without 
work,  because  she  only  lost  by  her  sale  of 
cotton  after  working  hard  to  gain  a  little. 
Hatoon  learned  to  crochet  and  knit,  and 
was  most  happy  when  anybodv  would 
buy  her  work.  The  mother  and  daughter 
occupied  a  very  small,  sunless  room,  the 
one  window  looking  out  across  a  narrow 
street  only  upon  a  high  wall.  The  one 
growing  thing  about  the  premises  was  a 
stunted  grape-vine  that  half-shaded  the 
little  couch  when,  during  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer, she  could  not  remain  inside.  The  one  great  luxury  Hatoon  craved  was 
sufficient  kerosene  to  supply  her  lamp  to  burn  as  freely,  early  and  late,  as  she 
desired.  Though  much  of  the  time  they  received  assistance  from  the  church 
in  order  to  exist  at  all,  she  sometimes  had  to  go  short  of  kerosene. 

Soon  after  being  confined  to  her  couch  Hatoon  learned  to  read,  and  the  Bible 
became  very  precious  to  her.  She  knew  it  well  in  every  part,  and  nothing  was  so 
willingly  undertaken  by  her  as  teaching  it  to  others.  They  count  some  twenty  or 
more  who  learned  of  her  to  read.     Among  these  are  some  active  Christian  young 

8s 


A    MOTHER    AND    CHILD    IN    TURKEY. 


86 


Palsied  Hatoon  of  Marash. 


men,  now  church  members,  who  on  becoming  her  pupils  were  not  only  non- 
Protestant  but  wicked.  She  had  a  peculiar  power  in  prayer,  and  labored  and 
prayed  earnestly  and  persistently  for  such  as  she  undertook  to  help. 


It  was  seven  years  ago  that  she  was  carried  to  the  church  to  be  formally 
received  as  one  of  its  members.  From  time  to  time  afterwards  her  neighbors 
carried  her  to  church  in  the  morning  and  she  remained  for  all  the  services  of  the 
day.  It  was  a  very  great  joy  to  her,  but  she  shrunk  from  asking  friends  to  take 
her,  saying  it  was  "  so  hard  for  them."     As  often  as  once  or  twice  in  the  year  we 


Palsied  Ha/eon  of  Marask. 


87 


gg  Palsied  Hatoon  of  Marash. 

sent  for  her  to  spend  a  few  days  at  the  College.  She  enjoyed  all  our  work,  and 
said  she  could  pray  better  for  us  after  knowing  the  routine  for  each  day.  She 
once  began  the  study  of  English,  feeling  she  could  get  much  help  from  our  good 
books  and  realizing  the  dearth  of  literature  in  Turkish.  She  gave  it  up  on 
finding  she  had  not  time  for  it  except  to  turn  off  her  pupils,  and  that  did  not 
seem  right  to  her.  She,  though  receiving  assistance  from  her  church,  was  a 
regular  contributor  to  its  funds.  She  said  the  Lord  helped  her  to  fulfil  her 
pledges  each  year,  though  she  never  knew  beforehand  how  she  should  earn  her 
money.  It  was  always  a  definite  sum  she  pledged,  prayed,  and  worked  for.  She 
regularly  studied  the  Sunday-school  lesson,  though  it  was  seldom  she  was  at 
Sunday-school. 

For  fifteen  years  she  continued  after  being  confined  to  her  couch.  For 
several  years  she  suffered  most  excruciating  pain  for  days  at  a  time.  At  last  the 
pains  left  her,  "in  answer  to  prayer,"  she  said,  and  she  was  usually  comfortable 
though  subject  to  fever  and  ague  and  ophthalmia,  the  ordinary  troubles  of  other 
people  here.  She  seldom  talked  of  self,  except  to  recount  her  blessings.  People 
went  to  her  to  comfort  and  cheer,  and  they  got  more  than  they  gave  her.  She  had 
severe  illness,  however,  at  the  last,  which  continued  three  and  one-half  months, 
and  it  was  most  pitiful  to  see  her  extremely  wasted  form  and  find  her  almost  too 
weak  to  converse  in  a  whisper.  Her  doctor  and  other  friends  tried  to  help  her, 
but  could  do  little  to  alleviate  her  distress.  She  continued  patient  to  the  end, 
and  was  willing  to  try  to  get  we'll,  though  desirous  of  being  released. 

When  asked  what  should  be  done  with  her  books  and  tracts,  perhaps  twenty- 
five  pieces  in  all,  she  said,  "Give  them  only  to  such  as  will  appreciate  their 
worth."  She  had  nothing  else  to  think  about  as  leaving  behind  except  the  dear 
old  mother,  and  she  earnestly  requested  that  she  would  not  leave  the  little  room 
that  had  been  so  long  their  home,  but  continue  to  live  there  and  rest,  now  she 
should  not  have  her  to  care  for.  We  could  not  mourn  when  we  heard  of  her 
release  on  a  recent  Sabbath  morning— the  day  she  hoped  she  might  go  home  ; 
but  we  who  did  not  attend  the  funeral  met  and  recounted  the  good  she  had  been 
permitted  to  accomplish,  through  her  love  for  Christ  and  his  abundant  grace 
bestowed  upon  her. 


SCENES  IN    CENTRAL  TURKEY. 


l'.V    REV.    AMERICUS    FULLER,    D.D.,    OF    AINTAB. 


The  bright  eager  faces  looking  out  upon  us  from  the  picture  on  the  next  page 
are  those  of  the  teachers  and  scholars  of  the  Kindergarten  at  Aintab,  Turkey. 
They  are,  all  but  one,  Armenians,  and  when  you  remember  that  Armenians 
almost  always  have  very  black  hair  and  eyes  you  will  easily  pick  out  the  single- 
American  girl  among  them.  This  school  is  the  granddaughter  of  the  first  Kin- 
dergarten in  Turkey.  Is  n't  it  a  lusty  yearling?  I  think  it  is  less  than  fourteen 
years  since  Miss  Nellie  Bartlett  opened  the  first  school  of  this  kind  at  Smyrna. 
The  system  has  from  the  first  been  widely  popular  in  Turkey,  and  schools  have 
been  multiplied  as  fast  as  teachers  could  be  procured.  A  graduate  of  the  Cen- 
tral Turkey  Girls'  College  was  sent  to  Smyrna  to  learn  the  system,  and  on  her 
return  a  Kindergarten,  with  a  department  for  training  teachers,  was  opened  by 
her  under  the  direction  of  the  faculty  of  the  Girls'  College.  The  teacher  of  the 
Aintab  school  is  a  pupil  of  this  Marash  Kindergarten  Normal  School. 

I  dare  say  you  will  think  at  once  as  you  look  at  this  beautiful  group  that  these 
do  not  look  like  children  needing  to  have  missionaries  sent  to  them,  and  so  they 
are  not ;  in  fact  they  are  themselves  preparing  to  be  missionaries  to  the  people 
of  Turkey  who  have  not  yet  received  the  gospel,  and  they  are  now  as  careful  and 
eager  to  save  their  five-para  pieces  for  the  Home  Missionary  Society  of  Aintab, 
which  is  helping  send  preachers  and  teachers  to  the  Koords,  as  you  are  who  are 
members  of  the  "Extra  Cent-a-Day  Band."  I  have  no  doubt,  too,  that  many  of 
these  children  are  already  thinking  and  planning  how  they  can  best  give  them- 
selves to  the  work  of  saving  and  enlightening  their  people  and  the  world.  Do 
you  not  think  it  a  very  beautiful  thing  for  parents  to  consecrate  their  children 
when  very  young  to  the  service  of  God  ?  I  think  this  is  more  common  among 
Protestant  Christians  in  Turkey  than  in  America;  certainly  I  have  very  often 
found  young  men  among  the  students  in  our  higher  schools  who  have  been 
struggling  long  and  hard  to  get  the  education  which  would  enable  them  as 
preachers  of  the  gospel  to  do  well  the  work  to  which  their  pious  parents  had  many 
years  before  given  them  in  prayer.  How  can  any  boy  or  girl  so  well  honor 
Christian  parents,  or  make  so  noble  and  grand  a  choice  and  please  our  divine 
Saviour  so  much,  as  in  deciding  to  give  time,  talent,  effort,  self  to  the  cause 
which  all  good  men  and  women  love  and  for  which  Jesus  gave  his  life? 

Many  of  the  children  in  the  picture  are,  as  you  see,  girls.  How  much  the 
gospel  has  done  for  them  !  Not  many  years  ago  it  was  not  thought  worth  while 
to  teach  girls  to  read  and  write.  I  once  heard  a  leading  Protestant  say  that  when 
he  was  a  young  man  there  were  only  two  women  in  Aintab,  a  city  of  40,000 
inhabitants,  who  could  read  ;  now  there  are  very  few  girls  who  grow  up  in  Prot- 
estant families  without  a  fair  common  school  education.     Does  it  not  mean  a 


9o 


Scenes  in  Central  Turkey 


great  deal  for  the  future  of  Turkey  that  such  schools,  such  children,  and  such 
teachers  are  being  rapidly  multiplied  in  the  land? 


Now  let  us  look  at  something  more  common  and  characteristic  of  Turkey. 
Opposite  is  a  picture  of  Dervishes,  who  are  accour'ed  holy  men  by  the  Moslems. 


Scenes  in  Central  Turkey. 


9» 


They  are  very  numerous  in  all  Mohammedan  countries  and  are  of  many  differen? 
orders,  with  widely  different  teachings,  rules,  and  customs,  and  yet  all  much  alike 
in  the  general  objects  which  they  seek.     The  word  dervish  {door  sill,  perhaps 
referring  to  their  place  at  the  door  when  begging)  indicates  the  poverty  and  self- 
renunciation  to  which  they  are  pledged  ;   for  they  are  men  who  have  not  only 
submitted  (Islam  means  submission)   themselves  to  God's  will,  but  they  have 
renounced  the  things  that  most  men  covet  and  have  entered  the  way  of  poverty 
and  obedience  to  the  rules  of  their  order.     They  do  not  associate  much  with 
other   men   but    live 
together   in    places 
called  tekkes.     These 
are   buildings   some- 
thing   like    convents 
set  apart  for  their  use 
and     maintained     by 
the  income  of  prop- 
erty devoted  to  this 
purpose    and    called 
vacouf.     Here    the 
dervish  is  always  sure 
to    find    shelter    and 
p  1  ai n  too d .    They  are 
much  given  to  trav- 
eling about  the  coun- 
try, usually   on   foot 
and   often   alone,  to 
visit  sacred  places  or 
holy  men.    The  der- 
vish usually  carries 
some  kind  of  a  charm 
which  he  prizes  very 
highly  and  with  which 
he  will  often  profess  to 
heal  disease  or  pro- 
tect from    the    influ- 
ence of  the  evil  eye. 
A    few   years    ago 
while  on  my  way  to 
Antioch    I    me     one 
of  these  men  whose  dervishes. 

appearance  and  manner  were  so  impressive  and  striking  as  to  produce  almost 
a  feeling  of  awe  in  his  presence.  Our  party  had  stopped  for  a  short  rest  in 
the  shade  of  a  tree  that  grew  near  a  ziaret,  which  is  a  holy  place  visited  by 
pilgrims,  when  a  tall  old  man.  of  commanding  presence,  and  with  very  long 
white  hair  and  beard,  came  out  of  the  ziaret  and  held  out  an  oblong,  black  and 
beautifully  polished  dish  made  from  a  cocoanut  shell,  rattling  the  little  brass 
chains  with  which  it  was  suspended,  to  attract  our  attention  and  to  indicate  his 


92 


Scenes  in  Central  Turkey. 


wish  for  alms.  I  put  some  bread  and  a  small  piece  of  money  in  his  dish  and 
nodded  pleasantly  to  him.  He  immediately  took  from  his  bosom  a  large  brass 
seal  curie usly  cut  with  beautiful  Arabic  letters  and  symbols,  and  having  in  the 
centre  the  sacred  name  Allah.  This  he  first  permitted  me  to  examine  and  the/, 
with  great  solemnity  and  with  many  ejaculatory  prayers  and  benedictions  struck 
it  heavily  upon  my  right  shoulder  and  pressed  it  into  the  palm  of  my  right 
hand,  by  which  I  understood  he  meant  to  secure  me  from  harm  or  accident  on 
my  journey  and  to   impart   power   and  skill  in  whatever  I   should  undertake. 

These  men  are  usu- 
ally quite  ignorant, 
but  are  held  in  great 
reverence  and  often 
exert  a  very  great  in- 
fluence even  over  men 
in  high  authority. 

The  picture  here 
shows  us  a  specimen 
of  Koordish  children, 
an  ancient  and  hardy 
race  of  people,  form- 
erly called  Carduchi. 
They  are  now  sup- 
posed to  number 
about  2,000,000  and 
inhabit  chiefly  the 
mountain  regions 
around  the  head- 
waters of  the  Eu- 
phrates and  Tigris 
rivers.  Those  who 
live  in  the  higher  and 
wilder  parts  of  the 
country  are  very  law- 
less and  barbarous, 
living  as  best  they  can 
by  a  little  very  rude 
farming,  the  care  of 
flocks  and  herds, 
hunting  and  robbery. 
koordish  children.  They  pay  very   little 

regard  to  government  and  only  occasionally  and  by  special  effort  are  brought 
into  any  subjection  to  it.  A  considerable  number  of  these  people  have,  however, 
occupied  and  permanently  settled  upon  the  fertile  lands  far  to  the  south,  toward 
Aleppo.  These  are  generally  in  villages  by  themselves  and  are  a  peaceable, 
industrious,  and  thriving  people.  The  Koords  have  a  language  of  their  own 
which  they  write  in  the  Arabic  characters.  They  have  no  printed  books,  and 
very  few  among  them  can  either  read  or  write. 


CONCERNING  THE  YEZIDEES. 

BY   REV.    ALPHEUS    N.    ANDRUS,    MARDIN,    I  WIT.RN   TURKEY. 


Yezd  is  a  Persian  word  signifying  God.  According  to  the  derivation  of  their 
name  the  Yezidees  should  be  worshipers  of  God ;  but  it  is  plain  they  cannot 
be  so  regarded  now,  whatever  they  may  have  been  in  past  ages. 

i.  They  recognize  One  Supreme  Being,  but  offer  to  him  neither  sacrifice  nor 
prayer.  They  say  he  is 
so  good  that  he  will  only 
and  always  do  good  any- 
way, so  that  there  is  no 
occasion  to  either  ap- 
pease his  wrath  or  solicit 
his  clemency. 

2.  They  believe  in  a 
personal  devil  who  was 
cast  out  of  Paradise,  but 
who  will  ultimately  be 
reinstated. 

As  the  author  of  all 
evil  he  needs,  they  say, 
to  be  propitiated  and 
honored,  and,  because 
of  his  final  restoration, 
it  is  worth  their  while 
to  curry  favor  with  him 
while  he  is  an  outcast, 
so  that  when  he  shall  be 
restored  to  favor  he  will 
intercede  for  them. 

These  reasons  explain 
the  esteem  and  rever- 
ence in  which  they  hold 

him,  the  sacredness  with  which  his  name  — Shay  tan —  is  regarded,  so  that  they 
never  speak  it,  and  the  almost  divine  honors  paid  to  his  symbol,  which  is  a  brazen 
ox.  They  hope  in  this  way  to  induce  him,  not  only  himself  to  do  them  no  harm 
in  this  life,  but  also  to  use  his  good  offices  for  them  in  the  life  to  come  so  that  no 
one  else  shall  harm  them. 


From  Laysrd'l  "  Nineveh  and  BHhylon."— Harper  A  Brothers. 
CHIEF   OF  THE    DEVIL-WORSHIPERS. 


qa  Concerning  the  Yezidees. 

3.  They  affirm  that  there  are  seven  gods,  each  of  whom,  in  his  turn,  governs 
the  universe  for  a  period  of  10,000  years. 

These  geds  have  the  title  of  Melek,  which  is  an  Aramaic  word  signifying  king, 
or  ruler.  The  god  now  in  power  is  called  by  them  Melek  TaaooS.  As  they  do 
not  know  when  he  began  his  reign  they  cannot  tell  when  his  10,000  years  will 
have  expired. 

4.  They  possess  four  symbols  of  this  Melek  Taaoos  which  are  of  brass,  and 
more  nearly  resemble  a  cock  than  any  other  winged  creature.  They  call  this 
symbol  "  Sanjak  Taaoos,"  which  means  the  banner  of  Taaoos. 

The  reason  they  give  why  the  symbol  should  be  of  this  shape  is  that  this  god 
once  appeared  in  the  world  in  the  form  of  a  bird.  They  bow  to  and  worship 
this  symbol,  advance  to  it  on  their  knees,  rise,  deposit  a  contribution  in  a  box 

placed  for  the  purpose  be- 
side the  symbol,  and  then 
walk  away  backward,  keep- 
ing their  eyes  fixed  upon 
the  brazen  bird  until  they 
have  returned  to  the  door 
of  the  house  in  which  the 
symbol  has  been  set  up. 

There  is  a  symbol  for 
each  of  the  four  districts 
into  which  the  regions  oc- 
cupied by  the  Yezidees  are 
divided.  These  districts 
are  :  — 

( 1 )  The  Sinjar,  which  is 
west  of  Mosul. 

(2)  The  Kherzan.  which 
is  in  the  mountains  of 
Koordistan. 

(3)  Aleppo  in  northern 
Syria,  including  also  the 
vilayet,  or  province,  of 
Diarbekir. 

(4)  Northern  Armenia, 
and  the  Caucasus  in  south- 
ern Russia. 

These  symbols  are  carried  about  in  their  respective  districts  to  the  Yezidee 
villages  by  members  of  the  third  order  of  their  priesthood,  who  are  called 
Kowals. 

The  Sheikhs  Yusef  and  Aziz,  who  constitute  the  second  order,  farm  this 
privilege  to  the  Kowals  by  an  annual  contract  secured  by  bids.  Only  a  few  years 
ago  a  contract  for  one  of  these  districts  was  sold  for  ^T.250  ($1,100). 

Several  months  are  required  to  canvass  a  single  district,  because  the  villages 
of  the  Yezidees  are  so  scattered,  and  the  only  means  of  travel  is  by  horse. 


From  Lay ard's  u  Nineveh  and  Babylon." — Harper  &  Brothers. 

HIGH    PRIEST  OF  THE    DEVIL-WORSHIPERS. 


Concerning  the  Yezidees, 


95 


Whatever   the   Kowals   collect  by   means  of  the  "  Sanjak  Taaoos,"  above  the 
amount  contracted  for,  is  their  own. 

Some  of  the  Yezidees  claim  that  this  "  Sanjak  Taaoos  "  is  the  seal  and  signet 


of  David,  and  that  it  was  not  made  by  any  earthly  artisan,  but  descended  in  its 
present  shape  directly  from  heaven. 

5.  The  local  centre  of  their  religion  is  now  at  a  spot  northeast  from  Mosul 
where  stands  a  large  house  of  worship  called  "Sheikh  Adi."  Mr.  Rassam,  the 
celebrated   excavator  of  Assyrian  and   Babylonian  remains,  thinks  that  the  last 


96 


Concerning  the  Yezidees. 


name  is  a  corruption  of  Addai,  and  that  the  building  was  formerly  a  Christian 
church  of  the  Chaldee  nation,  having  the  name  of  St.  Addai,  or  St.  Taddai, 
which  is  in  English  St.  Thaddeus.  This  apostle  preached  the  gospel  in  all  that 
region.  At  all  events  there  is  at  "  Sheikh  Adi  "  a  book,  not  less  than  700  years 
old,  which  contains  an  account  of  Sheikh  Adi  of  Hakkari,  who  is  now  regarded 
by  the  Yezidees  as  the  beginning  and  foundation  of  their  belief.  They  assign  to 
him  the  same  place  in  their  religion  that  the  Jews  give  to  Moses,  and  that  is 
claimed  by  the  Moslems  for  Mohammed.  They  do  not  reveal  the  date  of  the 
foundation  of  their  religion,  but  claim  that  it  is  older  than  Adam. 

6.  Much  more  that  is  curious  and  interesting  might  be  written  concerning  this 
strange  people,  but  our  space  will  only  permit  us  to  add  that  although  we  have 


From  Layard's  "  Nineveh  and  Babylon  "—Harper  &  Bruthers. 
YEZIDEE   WOMEN. 


been  watching  our  opportunity  to  get  the  gospel  in  among  them,  while  laboring 
with  their  nominally  Christian  neighbors,  we  have  not  yet  been  successful  —  chiefly 
on  account  of  their  inveterate  prejudice  against  reading  and  against  books  in 
general. 

We  did  succeed  in  getting  a  Yezidee  youth  to  begin  reading,  but  after  he  had 
lived  two  weeks  with  our  helper  who  was  instructing  him,  his  relatives  became 
alarmed  at  his  progress  and  took  him  back  to  his  father's  house. 

Not  many  months  ago,  however,  word  was  received  from  Mardin  that  an  invita- 
tion had  been  received  from  an  influential  Yezidee  in  the  neighborhood  of  Severek 
to  send  a  teacher  to  his  village  that  a  school  might  be  started  among  them.  This 
is  a  ray  of  hope  for  a  people  of  whom  we  do  not  yet  despair. 


A  GREEK  TOWN   IN  TURKEY,  18S9. 


HY    REV.    JAMES    W.    SI  El.\  I  . 


The  town  of  Ordoo  lies  on  the  eastern  slope  of  a  promontory  in  the  Black 
Sea  and  the  adjoining  low-lying  plain.  It  is  ninety-two  miles  west  of  Trebi/.ond 
and  twenty-five  west  of  Kerassoun,  and  is  accessible  by  a  weekly  steamer  or  in 
small  open  sailboats.  Owing  to  the  well-known  characteristics  of  the  Euxine,  the 
sailboats  are  rarely  employed  for  this  journey  by  the  missionaries,  unless  the  tour 
is  intended  to  take  in  the  intermediate  small  coast  villages.  The  steamer  has 
the  drawback,  however,  of  obliging  the  passengers  to  embark  and  disembark  at 
midnight  in  small  boats  and  frequently  in  a  heavy  storm  and  a  high-running  sea. 

Ordoo  has  a  population  of  about  7,500  souls,  or  1,500  houses.  Of  these  200 
are  Turkish,  300  Armenian,  and  1,000  Greek.  The  majority  of  the  people  are 
wretchedly  poor.  Some  of  the  houses  on  the  hillside  seem  well-to-do,  but  most 
of  those  on  the  lowland  are  mere  hovels. 

The  narrow  streets  between  the  low  huts  are  reeking  with  filth  and  garbage. 
If  it  happens  to  be  the  afternoon  of  a  bright,  sunny  day,  you  will  see  a  number 
of  women  sitting  on  the  thresholds  of  their  doorways,  knitting  and  chatting  with 
their  neighbors  across  the  way.  The  older  ones  rise  out  of  deference,  and  stand 
until  you  have  passed  ;  the  brides  and  marriageable  maidens  disappear  within. 
Young  and  old  are  dressed  in  gay  colors.  Even  the  poorer  have  found  time  to 
embroider  a  jacket  as  a  sample  of  their  skill  with  the  needle.  You  notice  the 
headdress  peculiar  to  the  Greek  women  of  that  region,  as  shown  in  the  picture 
on  the  next  page,  the  arrangement  of  which  impresses  you  constantly  with  the 
fear  that  they  are  suffering  from  chronic  neuralgia  or  toothache. 

If  you  like  we  will  visit  the  house  of  one  of  the  brethren  who  has  returned 
early  from  his  work.  Stoop  low  or  you  will  hit  your  head.  We  descend  a  step 
to  the  damp  earth  floor,  and,  as  our  eyes  get  accustomed  to  the  darkness,  we 
follow  our  host  across  the  one  room  and  take  our  seats,  cross-legged,  on  mats 
placed  to  right  and  left  of  the  fireplace,  in  which  a  fire  is  soon  roaring  and 
threatening  to  burn  the  frail  house  down  over  our  heads.  The  smoke  seeks  to 
escape  through  the  ragged  hole  in  the  thatch  which  serves  as  a  chimney.  The 
wood  is  dry  and  quickly  turns  to  coals.  While  the  hostess  is  busy  making  coffee 
for  us,  we  take  a  glance  at  our  surroundings. 

At  one  side  of  this  room,  which  serves  as  kitchen,  dining-room,  bedroom, 
sitting-room,  parlor,  guest-room,  and  sometimes  workshop  and  hennery,  is  a  low 
board  platform  covered  with  pieces  of  matting  or  a  cheap  rug.  On  one  corner  of 
it  the  bedding  of  the  family  is  neatly  piled,  to  be  out  of  the  way  during  the  day. 

97 


98 


A  Greek  Town  in  Turkey. 


There  is  also  the  old  family  cradle,  in  which  the  latest  comer  is  quietly  sleeping. 
The  next  older,  a  boy,  is  sitting  on  the  bare  ground  toasting  his  naked  feet  and 
legs  before  the  fire,  while  the  eldest  girl  is  shyly  sweeping  portions  of  the  floor 
and  setting  things  to  rights ;  not  that  the  floor  needs  sweeping  nor  that  the  room 
is  disorderly,  but  the  touching-up  is  in  honor  of  the  guests.  Under  the  platform 
is  the  general  storehouse  where  are  tucked  the  odds  and  ends.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  room  is  a  small,  hanging  cupboard  and  a  rack  for  pans  and  platters. 
The  tin  and  copper  ware  are  kept  scrupulously  clean  and  polished.  The  floor 
though  of  black  dirt  is  always  cleanly  swept.     In  this  one  room  the  father, 


A    GREEK    PEASANT    WOMAN. 


mother,  five  or  six  children,  and  the  grandparents  live,  and  to  this  home  will 
the  boys,  when  they  grow  up,  bring  their  brides.  Here  is  found  a  corner  for 
one  or  more  guests.  Every  housekeeper  takes  pride  in  the  extent  and  warmth 
of  her  hospitality. 

The  coffee  is  ready  and  handed  to  the  guests  in  tiny  cups.  It  is  black  and 
strong  and  may  or  may  not  be  sweetened.  In  certain  localities  the  guest  dis- 
covers the  degree  of  honor  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  amount  of  sugar  he  finds 
in  his  cup.  In  serving,  the  hostess  uses  the  word  "  oriste"  This  is  a  flexible 
and  convenient  term,  an  equivalent  for  which  the  English  lacks.  It  corresponds 
in  this  case  to  "help  yourself."  The  greeting  on  entering  a  house  is  always 
"  Kalos  oriste"  —  welcome.     The  freedom  of  the  house  is  yours.     It  has  num- 


./  Greek  Town  in  Turkey.  99 

berless  meanings  and  is  very  convenient.     It  may  mean,  take  a  scat,  begin  t< 

go  out,  come  in,  let 's  be  going,  please  repeat  what  yon  were  saying,  what  <1<>  you 

wish,  etc. 

(  >n  leaving,  we  find  our  rubbers,  which  our  party  had  dis<  arded  on  entering, 
nicely  (leaned  and  arranged  in  a  row  ready  for  slipping  on.  Instead  of  raising 
our  hats  in  European  style  as  we  depart,  we  return  the  salutation  of  the  host 
by  touching  the  chin  and  forehead  with  the  fingertips  of  the  right  hand, 
replying  to  the  "  Hairefe"  (rejoice)  with".Siw  aphinomen  egean"  (we  leave 
you  health). 

During  such  a  call  the  conversation  will  turn  on  a  variety  of  topics.  If 
religion  and  spiritual  things  are  not  discussed  at  first  they  will  be  before  leave- 
taking.  The  housewife  may  bring  out  her  treasures  of  embroidery  for  the  guest 
to  look  at.  There  may  be  a  sick  baby  in  the  cradle  to  prescribe  for,  since  all 
foreigners  are  ex  officio  physicians.  Official  oppression  always  keeps  the  attention 
where  other  topics  may  fail. 

The  tax-gatherers  are  always  oppressive  :  this  year  especially  so.  The  com- 
plaints have  resulted  in  the  sending  of  an  inspector  from  Trebizond  to  inquire 
into  the  matter.  Notice  was  sent  to  the  villages  and  on  a  certain  day  of 
January,  during  my  visit,  the  streets  were  filled  with  villagers  ready  to  file  their 
complaints.  They  brought  their  proofs  along  too.  One  burly  fellow  brought  in 
a  filbert- tree  on  his  shoulder.  '"This  tree,"  cried  he,  "was  taxed  for  120 
pounds  of  filberts.  Will  some  one  be  kind  enough  to  tell  me  on  which  branch 
to  look  for  them?"  The  inspector  on  hearing  the  complaints  of  the  villagers 
seemed  quite  touched,  wiped  his  eyes,  and  called  them  "  My  poor  people." 

The  tax-gatherers,  not  a  little  aroused  by  the  inspector's  visit,  were  on  the  alert, 
and  seeing  the  tears,  they  summoned  a  physician  to  certify  to  the  inspector's 
insanity.  So  he  was  seized  and  shut  up  where  he  could  neither  hear  complaints 
nor  be  heard  himself.     Meanwhile  the  collection  of  taxes  continues. 

The  chief  business  of  Ordoo  is  the  providing  a  market  for  the  mountain 
villagers  who  bring  in  produce  to  exchange  for  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  cloth,  kerosene, 
etc.,  or  for  cash.  In  Ordoo  Wednesday  is  a  special  market-day,  and  from  before 
daylight  until  noon  the  highway  is  filled  with  men,  women,  and  children,  horses, 
mules,  and  donkeys,  laden  down  with  bundles  of  wood,  bags  of  wheat,  corn, 
flour,  vegetables,  cheese,  butter,  eggs;  molasses  made  of  grapes,  pears,  or  mul- 
berries ;  fox  and  jackal  skins,  nuts,  etc.,  etc.  At  the  entrance  to  the  town  a  rope 
is  stretched  across  the  street  at  what  is  called  the  kantarlik,  or  weighing  office. 
Here  each  person  is  obliged  to  pay  one  cent  for  his  burden,  be  it  large  or  small, 
and  two  cents  for  that  of  each  of  his  animals.  In  return  for  the  toll  he  receives 
an  order  on  the  public  weigher  in  the  central  market,  where  all  are  obliged  to  go 
first,  entitling  him  to  the  free  weighing  of  his  goods.  The  poverty  of  the  people 
is  astonishing.  One  cent  does  not  seem  a  large  fee,  but  hundreds  and  hundreds 
of  these  poor  fellows  cannot  pay  even  that.  They  are  obliged  to  leave  their 
very  garments  at  the  office,  as  surety  that  on  their  return  at  nightfall,  after  a  day's 
bargaining  over  a  few  cents'  worth  of  produce,  the  result  of  a  week's  hard  labor 
in  their  mountain  homes,  the  one  cent  will  be  forthcoming.  These  pledges  are 
piled  in  a  hopeless  heap  in  an  open  shed,  to  be  picked  out  and  claimed  by  the 
individual  on  his  return. 


100 


A  Greek  Town  in  Turkey. 


A  Greek  Town  in  Turkey. 


101 


In  the  summer,  Ordoo  is  considered  very  unhealthy,  and  the  merchants  with 
their  families  move  up  into  the  mountains  to  their  Yailah,  or  summer  village,  on 
a  plateau  6,000  feet  above  sea-level,  distant  39  miles.  They  begin  to  make 
the  change  in  May,  and  gradually  all  the  town  find  their  way  up  the  mountain. 

Lack  of  trade  compels  a  large  number  of  the  men  to  leave  their  families  in  the 
early  spring  and  go  off  to  Russia  or  Bulgaria  to  find  work.  The  wives  at  home 
spend  the  long  intervening  months  caring  for  the  children  as  best  they  can. 
They  cut  and  fetch  wood  from  the  mountains,  work  in  the  fields  for  a  few  cents 
a  day,  and  if  household  cares  confine 
them,  keep  their  fingers  flying  over 
their  knitting.  The  art  of  knitting 
is  not  limited  to  the  women.  Men 
and  boys  are  often  seen  on  the  road 
or  in  the  fields  carrying  burdens  or 
tending  sheep,  while  their  fingers 
are  hard  at  work  on  a  stocking. 
Knitting  is  something  to  which  the 
women  can  turn  at  any  time ;  but 
it  is  often  their  only  employment 
for  many  weeks.  The  housewife 
buys  the  raw  wool  at  twenty-four 
cents  the  oke  (about  two  pounds 
and  a  half).  It  takes  three  days  to 
prepare  this  for  spinning,  seven  more 
to  spin  it  by  hand,  and  twenty-six 
more  to  knit  the  twelve  pairs  of  socks 
which  the  oke  is  supposed  to  make. 
Each  pair  sells  for  eight  cents,  or 
ninety-six  cents  for  the  lot.  The  dif- 
ference between  the  cost  and  selling 
price  is  seventy-two  cents,  to  make 
which  the  poor  woman  has  been 
laboring  for  thirty-six  days  ;  that  is, 
she  has  made  two  cents  a  day  ! 

Evangelical  Christianity  in  Ordoo  had  an  interesting  beginning.  It  sprang 
from  a  single  Testament  which  a  Greek  merchant  of  the  place  bought  in  Con- 
stantinople many  years  ago.  He  was  ignorant  of  the  character  of  the  book  and 
consulted  a  priest  about  it.  He  was  ordered  to  burn  it.  He  was  loath  to  do  so, 
but  feared  the  priest.  A  friend  found  him  and  purchased  the  book,  read  it, 
became  enlightened,  and  was  converted.  When  Dr.  Parmelee  visited  the  place 
he  found  this  man  dying,  and  heard  from  his  lips  the  story  of  his  conversion  and 
an  expression  of  a  genuine  faith  in  the  Saviour  for  salvation.  He  soon  passed 
away,  but  the  seed  bore  fruit  and  resulted  in  the  prosperous  state  of  the  churches 
there  to-day.  One  of  the  oldest  Greek  Evangelicals  is  a  woman  who,  eighteen 
years  ago,  hearing  that  a  preacher  had  come  to  town,  and  curious  to  see  what 
sort  of  a  creature  he  might  be,  watched  for  him  near  the  public  fountain.  After 
seeing  him  her  first  remark  was,  "  Why,  he  is  just  like  any  other  man  !  " 


GREEK    YOUNG    MEN. 


THE  SHQIPETARS  IN  1891. 

BY    REV.    J.    W.    BAIRD,    OF    MONASTIR,    EUROPEAN   TURKEY. 


Ask  one  of  them  who  they  are  and  he  will  tell  you,  "  Those  who  live  in 
Shqiperi."  In  the  time  of  Paul  they  were  known  as  Illyrians  ;  that  is,  "  the  free." 
Some  of  them  claim  that  their  language  is  closely  related  to  the  Sanskrit  and  that 
they  are  the  descendants  of  the  Pelasgians  who  came  to  the  Balkan  Peninsula 
about  the  time  that  Abraham  went  to 
Canaan.  Alexander  and  his  army,  as 
well  as  Pyrrhus,  were  Shqipetars.  Their 
national  hero  is  Skenderbeg,  who,  just 
before  the  discovery  of  America,  for 
twenty-five  years  successfully  resisted 
the  Turks. 

Their  neighbors  call  them  Arvanati 
or  Arnaouts,  but  others  know  them  as 
Albanians.  Their  own  name  is  prob- 
ably derived  from  shqipye  (eagle), 
which  well  describes  the  Albanians  — 
strong,  brave,  and  rapacious.  Their 
legends  and  songs  are  of  heroes  and 
their  raids.  The  Bulgarians  say  of 
them,  "  Naked,  barefooted,  but  fiery 
as  hornets."  Loving  war  and  plunder, 
they  have  ever  been  ready  for  a  fray, 
and  consequently  have  made  almost 
no  progress  in  civilization.  Saint,  law- 
giver, or  philosopher  they  seem  to 
have  never  had.  They  were  at  one 
time  all  nominally  Christian,  but  now 
rather  more  than  one  half  of  them  are 
nominally  Moslems,  who,  however,  re- 
tain their  own  language  and    customs 

and  treat  their  non-Moslem  neighbors  as  equals.     The  Turks  they  often  speak  of 
very  disparagingly,  and  in  turn  they  are  regarded  as  heretics. 

As  well  as  I  can  guess  there  are  about  1,500,000  Albanians,  most  of  whom 
live  northwest  and  west  of  Macedonia,  though  many  are  found  in  Greece  and 
even  in  Sicily.  There  are  two  main  dialects,  related  to  each  other  about 
as  Highland  Scotch  to  Boston  English  —  the  Gheg,  or  nonhern,  and  the  Tosk, 
or  southern. 


A     MOUNTAIN     ALBANIAN. 


Tin-  Shqipetars. 


103 


The  Turkish  government  has  thought  best  not  to  attempt  to  enforce  its  rule 
in  all  parts  of  Albania,  and  so  in  the  mountain  fastnesses  the  Albanians  do  their 
own  governing.  A  man  and  his  rifle  —  Albanians  have  a  weakness  for  firearms 
—  are  governor,  court,  and  police,  all  in  one.  Brigandage  and  blood  feuds  have 
cursed  the  country.  Revenge  is  taken  by  openly  shooting  the  offender,  but  not 
before  having  warned  him.     They  scorn  to  do  it  secretly. 

Wherever  a  strong  government  puts  down  brigandage  and  blood  feuds,  and 
gives   security   to   life   and    property,    the    Albanians   make    rapid   progress   in 

civilization,  and  give  clear  proof 
that  in  mental  ability  they  are 
not  a  whit  behind  any  of  their 
neighbors.  Their  heads  are 
generally  quite  large  and  well- 
formed.  Their  complexion  is 
lighter  than  that  of  the  Greeks. 
They  are  much  prized  in  other 
countries  to  which  they  go  tem- 
porarily to  get  a  living,  as  watch- 
men, guards,  etc.,  because  of 
their  faithfulness  and  bravery.  I 
have  seen  a  Jew  entrust  a  sum 
of  gold  to  a  ragged  muleteer. 
When  the  man  had  gone,  the 
Jew  said,  "  That  man  who  has  n't 
shoes  to  wear  in  this  sleet  will 
deliver  that  money  as  he  prom- 
ised or  die  in  the  attempt.  He  's 
an  Albanian." 

One  strange  thing  about  the 
Albanians  is  that,  living  beside 
civilized  nations  with  whom  they 
have  had  much  to  do,  they  have 
got  along  without  books  and 
schools  in  their  own  language. 
The  first  book  published  in 
Albanian  was  a  short  Catholic 
catechism,  printed  near  the  end 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  Since 
that  time  but  very  few  others  have  appeared,  and  these  in  quite  a  variety  of 
alphabets.  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  has  translated,  printed,  and 
circulated  the  New  Testament  and  six  books  of  the  Old.  There  are  now  only 
two  schools  where  an  Albanian  can  learn  to  read  his  own  language  :  one  taught 
by  Jesuits  in  Scutari,  and  one  in  Kortcha.  I  have  visited  the  latter  and  am 
sorry  to  say  it  is  very  small.  There  are  some  Turkish  schools,  but  as  Turkish 
is  almost  unknown  in  Albania  they  do  little  good.  In  the  towns  and  large 
villages  among  the  Tosks  are  Greek  schools;  but  money  could    not   hire  the 


AN     ALBANIAN     PEASANT. 


104 


The  SJiqipetars. 


Greek  party  to  allow  Albanian  to  be  used  either  in  school  or  in  church,  although 
that  is  the  only  language  the  people  use  in  their  homes,  for  that  would  defeat 
their  purpose  to  Hellenize  this  people.  Thus  it  happens  that  the  Albanians  never 
had  the  gospel  preached  to  them  in  a  language  they  could  understand. 

Our  European  Turkey  Mission  felt  called  to  begin  work  among  this  people, 
some  of  whom  are  members  of  our  churches.  In  1890  we  ordained  an 
Albanian,  Mr.  G.  D.  Kyrias,  a  graduate  of  the  Samokov  school.  He  is  in 
the  employ  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  and  resides  in  Kortcha. 
In  addition  to  his  other  work  he 
has  preached  regularly  for  nearly 
a  year  in  his  own  house,  and 
though  there  is  much  opposition 
he  is  greatly  encouraged.  He 
wishes  very  much  to  have  some 
one  to  help  him,  for  the  people 
are  ready  to  listen  to  the  gospel. 
The  American  Board,  however, 
cannot  furnish  us  with  a  small 
sum  of  money  for  tracts,  rent  of 
preaching  place,  or  for  support  of 
preacher.  A  little  is  given  for  a 
Bible-woman,  and  we  hope  she 
will  begin  work  this  summer,  as 
soon  as  she  graduates  from  the 
American  College  for  Girls  at 
Constantinople.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  she  will  find  plenty  to  do 
and  that  her  efforts  will  be  ap- 
preciated. 

I  was  in  Kortcha  this  spring 
and  found  it  the  best-built  town 
for  its  size  that  I  have  seen  in 
Turkey.  Many  of  its  inhabitants 
appeared  unusually  refined.  They 
are  neater  in  their  dress  than  those 
of  Monastir.  What  pleased  me 
most  was  to  find  people  ready  to 
listen  to  the  gospel.  This  readi- 
ness is  greater  than  it  ever  seemed  to  be  in  Macedonia,  whose  cry  has  been  in 
my  ears  as  I  have  climbed  its  mountains  and  crossed  its  plains  the  past  eighteen 
years.  There  are  two  or  three  now  doing  what  they  can  to  evangelize  their 
countrymen,  without  any  salary  from  the  Board.  They  are  toiling  in  these  fields 
white  for  the  harvest.  If  the  churches  cannot  furnish  them  with  good  sickles, 
will  they  not  give  them  at  least  a  file  to  sharpen  some  borrowed  sickle  ?  Must 
they  pull  up  the  wheat  with  their  bare  hands? 

A  few  words  may  be  necessary  in  exp  anation  of  the  pictures  given  with  this 


ALBANIAN    WOMAN    OF    THE    CITY. 


The  Shqipetars. 


105 


article.  The  picture  of  the  Mountain  Albanian  represents  a  very  common  dress 
in  the  western  portion  of  the  country.  It  is  said  that  the  national  costume  is 
handsome  and  consists  of  a  cotton  shirt  with  a  woolen  fustanella,  or  kilt,  rea<  h- 
ing  to  the  knees.     The  picture  of  the  Albanian  peasant  shows  this  fustanella,  but 

is  not  so  long  or  full  as  in  the  garb  of  the  better  classes.     One  hundred  and  fifty 
gores  form  a   moderate    fustanella, 
but  300  would  be  more  in  conform- 
ity with  the  fashion. 

The  picture  of  the  Albanian  city 
lady  shows  the  dress  of  the  women 
in  Scutari.  The  face  is  too  dark  to 
do  the  Albanians  justice,  for  they 
are  little,  if  any,  darker  than  the 
average  American.  It  is  said  that 
the  poorer  classes,  though  pictur- 
esque in  appearance,  are  extremely 
dirty  in  their  habits  and  seldom 
change  their  clothes.  The  dress  of 
the  women  is  often  quite  fantastic. 
The  girls  frequently  string  together 
the  coins  they  have  collected  and 
wear  them  upon  their  heads  or  as  a 
necklace.  The  picture  of  the  man 
and  his  wife  on  this  page  represents 
the  Albanian  as  found  on  the  border 
of  Montenegro. 

The  following  description  has 
been  given  of  a  native  Albanian  : 
"  He  is  of  middle  stature,  his  face 
is  full,  with  high  cheek  bones,  his  Albanians  of  the  north. 

neck  long,  his  chest  full  and  broad, 

his  air  is  erect  and  majestic  to  a  degree  which  never  fails  to  strike  the  traveler ; 
he  holds  in  utter  contempt  that  dissimulation  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Greek, 
and,  unlike  the  Turk,  he  is  gay,  lively,  and  active." 

These  are  the  people  whom  we  hope  to  reach  with  the  message  of  the  gospel. 


A  GOSPEL  TRIUMPH   IN  THE  LAND  OF  ARARAT. 


BY    REV.    GEORGE    C.    RAYNOLDS,    M.D.,    OF    VAN,    EASTERN    TURKEY. 


Perhaps  it  is  in  individual  experiences,  rather  than  in  the  histories  of  nations 
or  communities,  that  the  wondrous  triumphs  of  the  gospel  are  most  strikingly 
illustrated.  May  we  give  you  the  story  of  one  of  these  experiences  from  the 
mountain  fastnesses  where  the  head  waters  of  the  Tigris  River  take  their  rise,  in 
the  land  of  "Ararat"?     (2  Kings  19  :  37.) 

Among  those  deep  canons  with  the  eternal  snows  looking  down  upon  them, 
in  a.  small  village  where  wild  and  lawless  Koords  formed  the  greater  part  of  the 
population,  there  lived,  some  eighteen  years  ago,  a  few  Armenian  families  culti- 
vating their  scanty  arable  fields  in  the  same  rude  way  their  ancestors  have  used 
since  the  time  of  Abraham,  and  depending  on  the  milk  and  wool  of  their  cattle 
and  sheep  to  eke  out  their  scanty  income.  Not  a  soul  in  the  village  knew  how 
to  read  and  the  condition  of  the  Armenians  was  little  better  than  that  of  the 
Koords  themselves.  In  those  days  a  mendicant  priest,  himself  barely  knowing 
how  to  read  and  write,  visited  the  village  and  attempted  to  turn  an  honest  penny 
by  opening  a  school.  But  as  the  chief  idea  he  seemed  to  have  of  a  school- 
master's duties  was  to  wield  the  rod,  the  children  soon  tired  of  such  instruction 
and  left  the  priest  to  seek  other  fields  of  labor. 

But  in  the  mind  of  one  person,  Atom,  the  eldest  son  of  one  of  the  families  to 
which  I  have  referred,  a  thirst  for  knowledge  had  been  awakened,  and  he  medi- 
tated how  he  might  attain  his  purpose.  He  knew  that  there  was  some  sort  of  a 
school  at  a  monastery  a  day's  journey  away,  but  his  parents  would  not  listen  to 
his  leaving  home  to  go  there.  Still  the  desire  burned  within  him,  and  one  day 
when  he  was  alone  in  the  field  plowing  he  determined  to  gratify  his  desire  at  all 
hazards.  So  when  he  unyoked  the  oxen  for  the  noon  rest  he  started  for  the 
longed-for  seat  of  learning.  His  parents  soon  learned  where  he  had  gone,  and 
first  the  father,  and  then  the  mother,  carrying  her  infant  on  her  back,  trudged 
over  the  hot,  weary  way  to  persuade  him  to  return.  But  they  did  not  succeed, 
and  he  stayed  in  the  school  till  he  had  learned  to  read  and  write  fairly  well. 
Then  returning  home,  his  newly  acquired  accomplishments  gave  him  an  impor- 
tant position  among  his  people,  and  he  was  constantly  called  upon  to  keep 
accounts,  write  or  read  letters,  or  transact  business  in  different  places. 

On  one  of  his  business  trips  he  met  a  man  who  had  a  copy  of  the  Bible  in 
the  modern  Armenian  language.  It  was  a  new  book  to  him,  and  he  was 
immensely  interested  and   had  soon  bargained  for  the  purchase  of  the  book. 


./  Gospel  Triumph  in  the  Land  of  Am  rat. 


107 


The  precious  volume  was  his  constant  companion,  and  he  read  it  in  the  house 
and  by  the  way,  and  its  precepts  began  to  take-  hold  of  his  heart  and  life.  Nol 
long  after  this  he  visited  the  city  of  Van,  and  someone  told  him  that  some  new 

people,  called  "Protes"  (a  shortening  of  the  word  Protestant,  used  as  a  term 
of  reproach  and  frequently  shouted  after  us  in  the  streets),  had  come  to  the  city 
ami  that  they  had  Bibles  and  other  books  to  sell,  and  he  had  better  visit  them. 
Others  warned  him  against  them  as  "  Satans."  He  visited  the  home  of  one  of 
the  missionaries,  who  spent  a  large  part  of  a  Saturday  afternoon  in  talking  with 
him  and  invited  him  to  stay  to  service  on  the  following  day.  This  visit  made  a 
deep  impression  on  his  mind.     On  his  occasional  visits  to  the  city  during  the 


VILLAGE    ARMENIANS. 

following  months  Atom  would  call  on  the  missionaries,  tell  them  of  his  daily 
experiences,  and  ask  their  help  in  solving  the  various  difficulties  he  encountered 
in  studying  the  Word,  and  it  was  not  long  before  it  was  evident  from  his  own 
account  and  the  testimony  of  his  neighbors  that  a  radical  change  was  going  on 
in  his  heart  and  transforming  his  life. 

One  of  his  visits  occurred  at  the  time  of  communion  in  the  Protestant  church, 
and  the  question  of  his  uniting  with  the  church  was  broached.  His  examination 
gave  a  wonderful  revelation  of  what  the  Spirit  is  able  to  accomplish  in  the  human 
heart,  through  the  medium  of  the  Word,  with  little  or  no  human  agency,  and  no 
doubt  remained  in  the  minds  of  those  present  as  to  the  propriety  of  receiving 
him.  Not  long  after,  in  consequence  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  Russo-Turkish 
war,  the  outrages  of  the  Koords  made  his  village  almost  untenable,  and  Atom 
decided  to  remove  his  family  to  the  city,  and  one  day  he  appeared  with  his 
whole   family   at    the    door    of    the    missionary   house.     The    group    as    it    then 


io8 


A  Gospel  Triumph  in  the  Land  of  Ararat. 


appeared  seemed  neither  particularly  attractive  nor  hopeful,  save  as  latent  pos- 
sibilities even  then  suggested  themselves.  Our  first  picture  shows  a  group  of 
villagers  from  the  same  region  and  gives  a  very  correct  idea  of  the  condition  of 
this  family  as  it  then  appeared.  The  coarse  and  scanty  clothing,  the  stolid 
faces,  the  use  of  the  ox  as  a  beast  of  burden,  are  all  true  to  the  life.  A  few 
copper  and  earthen  vessels  in  which  to  cook  and  eat  their  food,  and  some  coarse 
carpets  under  which  they  might  sleep  at  night  on  the  ground,  formed  the  sum  of 
their  household  utensils.  A  place  was  found  where  they  might  live,  and  the 
children  began  to  attend  school.     The  Bible  was  a  prominent  textbook  in  the 


ATOM    AND  THE   SCHOLARS   AT  VAN. 


school,  and  both  children  and  adults  were  brought  under  gospel  influences.  It 
was  delightful  to  see  the  minds  and  hearts  of  these  children  expanding  in 
response  to  the  new  ideas  to  which  they  were  thus  introduced.  Even  the  adult 
members  of  the  family  began  to  lose  their  stolid  looks  and  show  that  these  new 
ideas  were  having  their  influence  even  on  them. 

The  second  of  our  illustrations  shows  as  the  central  and  oldest  member  of  the 
group  the  young  man  Atom  after  a  few  years  of  the  new  life,  and  while  he  was 
acting  as  steward  for  the  then  incipient  Van  Boys'  Boarding  School.  His  bright 
and  benignant  face  reveals  the  new  life  of  love  that  had  been  awakened  within 
him,  endearing  him  to  all  with  whom  he  was  brought  in  contact.     It  was  while 


A  Gospel  Triumph  in  the  Land  of  Ararat. 


109 


acceptably  performing  the  duties  of  this  office  that  by  a  sudden  sickness,  and, 
as  it  seemed  to  our  short  sight,  prematurely,  he  was  called  home  to  the  better 
world. 

The  pictures  on  this  and  the  next  page  present  the  family  after  these  trans- 
forming gospel  influences  have  wrought  upon  them  for  some  twelve  years.  In 
the  larger  group  the  widow  of  Atom  sits  on  the  left,  with  her  little  girl  binding 
at  her  side  and  her  son  standing  at  the  other  end  of  the  group.  These  two 
children  are  now  in  the  schools,  bright  and  attractive,  and  give  promise  of  useful 


THE    FAMILY    AT   VAN. 


lives  in  the  future.  The  two  sisters  of  Atom,  standing  at  the  ends  of  the  rear 
row,  were  both  members  of  the  first  graduating  class  in  the  Girls'  School.  The 
older  one,  Asmeen  by  name,  has  been  teaching  for  a  number  of  years  in  the 
city  school  and  has  done  efficient  work  in  the  school  as  well  as  a  Bible  reader 
among  the  women  of  the  city.  I  wish  you  could  see  her  dignified  and  ladylike 
bearing  in  her  daily  school  work  or  on  examination  days,  or  see  her  seated  with 
a  group  of  girls  about  her  at  the  noon  recess,  while  they  ask  for  Bible  stories  or 
pleading,  "Teacher,  can't  we  have  a  little  prayer-meeting?"  And  then  the  little 
girls  go  home  to  relate  to  their  mothers  what  they  have  heard.  Or  you  would 
be  interested  to  go  with  her  to  the  homes  of  her  pupils  and  hear  the  mothers 
ask  her  what  strange  power  she  exercises  over  their  daughters  to  render  them 


I  IO 


A  Gospel  Triumph  in  the  Land  of  Ararat. 


obedient  and  truthful.  Sometimes  she  visits  the  sick  on  their  beds  of  pain,  and 
you  might  hear  them  saying,  "  Read  us  more  of  the  precious  words  of  Jesus. 
Tell  us  your  own  experience  of  a  Saviour's  love." 

Asmeen  is  now  taking  a  two  years'  course  at  the  American  College  for  Girls  at 
Constantinople,  to  fit  her  for  more  efficient  work  in  the  future.  The  younger 
sister,  after  several  years  of  successful  teaching  in  the  boarding  school,  has 
married  one  of  our  estimable  young  men  and  founded  a  home  of  her  own. 
Two  brothers  stand  between  the  sisters.  The  older,  whose  wife  and  children 
are  also  in  the  group,  has  done  efficient  work  as  colporter  among  the  villages  of 

our  field.  The  younger  brother  has  de- 
veloped unusual  talent  for  drawing  and 
painting  and  has  done  really  creditable 
work  in  those  lines.  He  now  teaches 
those  branches,  with  writing,  in  our 
schools.  In  the  centre  of  the  group  sits 
the  old  mother,  her  beaming  face  showing 
that  she  appreciates  the  transformation 
that  has  been  wrought  in  her  family. 
The  picture  opposite  shows  the  remaining 
brother  and  his  wife.  His  name  is  Mar- 
deros,  or  Martyr.  He  spent  a  number  of 
years  in  our  schools  as  pupil  and  teacher, 
carrying  on  the  study  of  English  with 
special  enthusiasm.  Then  he  went  to 
Harpoot  for  his  theological  course,  where 
he  found  his  efficient  wife  among  the 
graduates  of  the  female  department  of  the 
college.  He  has  now  for  several  years 
occupied  the  important  and  responsible 
position  of  preacher  of  the  Van  church. 
The  contrast  between  his  native  village 
hut,  the  animals  sharing  the  same  apart- 
ments with  the  family,  and  the  comfort- 
able home  he  now  occupies,  —  the  walls 
hung  with  his  brother's  paintings,  his 
bookshelves  furnished  with  works  on  philosophy  and  biography,  all  revealing  a 
refined  and  cultivated  taste  on  the  part  of  the  occupants,  —  well  sets  forth  the 
change  which  vital  Christianity  and  Christian  education  are  effecting  in  many 
families  in  this  as  well  as  in  other  lands. 

I  am  sure  any  of  our  young  readers  would  be  thankful  to  have  had  a  hand  in 
contributing  to  such  a  transformation  as  that  here  described,  and  I  trust  many 
will  seek  for  such  opportunities  in  the  future. 


MARDEROS   AND    WIFE. 


MV-^=Wr=!L*h—  1  _-Wt   .^».     ,,l,   'l'^    Al.      .J'.l  ^'    '    ■ 


THE  HISTORY  OF  TWO  ARMENIAN   BOYS. 


BY    REV.    CYRUS    HAMI.IN,    D.D. 


About  the  year  1S47  two  Armenian  boys  named  Simone  and  Steppan  were  in 
tne  convent  of  Moosh,  in  Eastern  Turkey,  as  "  pocravores,"  freshmen,  or  rather 
sub-freshmen.  They  were  really  servants  of  the  vartabed  who  was  the  head  of 
the  convent.  Nominally  they  were  his  students,  and  in  course  of  time,  say 
twelve  or  fifteen 
years,  they  might 
hope  to  become 
vartabeds  them- 
selves, or,  if  they 
should  choose  to 
marry,  they  might 
become  very  re- 
spectable   priests. 

One  day  Si- 
mone heard  in 
the  village  market 
place  a  trader  re- 
turned from  Con- 
stantinople relate 
how  he  found  at 
the  great  capital 
a  new  school  es- 
tablished by  some 
foreigners  for 
teaching  the  theol- 
ogy of  the  Bible. 
The  term,  "  the 
theology    of    the 

Bible,"  took  possession  of  him  at  once.  He  went  back  to  the  convent  to  tell 
his  roommate  Steppan,  and  they  had  long  talks  about  it.  They  both  agreed 
that  if  they  were  ever  to  be  priests  or  vartabeds,  that  was  just  what  they 
ought  to  study.  They  thereupon  resolved  they  would  go  to  Constantinople 
and  find  that  school. 

They  were  poor,  ignorant  boys,  but  they  had  firmness,  faith,  and  courage. 
Who  will  say  they  had  no  divine  light  and  guidance?  It  is  true  they  groped 
their  way  in  great  darkness,  but  it  was  not  Egyptian  darkness.  Against  all 
advice  and  opposition  the  two  poor  heroic  boy>,  each  with  a  pack  containing 
his  clothing  and  his  bedding  for  the  long  journey  (a  rug  with  a  few  articles  rolled 
up  in  it),  set  forth  into  the  future  after  the  theology  of  the  Bible! 


REV.  SIMONE  TAVITIAN. 


1 12  The  History  of  Two  Armenian  Boys. 

Their  absolute  poverty  made  them  absolutely  safe.  Even  Koords  treated 
them  kindly  and  sometimes  shared  their  coarse  fare  with  them,  and  in  every 
village  they  were  hospitably  fed,  and  at  night  they  always  found  a  roof  of  some 
kind,  from  nature  or  from  man,  under  which  to  spread  the  rug  and  sleep  pro- 
foundly till  morning. 

Arrived  at  Trebizond,  footsore  and  weary,  the  Black  Sea  interposed  some  four 
hundred  miles  of  its  dark  waters.  A  multitude  was  waiting  for  the  steamer,  and 
they  found  sympathetic  countrymen  who  paid  their  deck  passage  and  provided 
a  haversack  of  bread  and  olives  to  feed  them  across  the  unquiet  waves. 

At  Constantinople  a  friendly  passenger  who  knew  the  city  took  them  directly 
to  the  Armenian  patriarch.  Was  he  not  the  father  of  all  the  Armenians,  and 
especially  of  poor,  needy  youth  like  them  ?  They  fell  at  his  feet  and  told  him 
their  story.  He  praised  their  wonderful  achievement,  assuring  them  it  would  be 
remembered  for  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins.  "  But  as  to  that  school  for  teaching 
the  theology  of  the  Bible,  I  found  it  was  a  bad,  heretical  thing  kept  by  foreign- 
ers. I  have  shut  it  up  and  sent  the  foreigners  home.  But  you  shall  not  fail  of 
reaching  your  most  praiseworthy  object.  I  have  a  very  learned  and  excellent 
vartabed,  a  very  devout  and  pious  man  whom  I  am  going  to  send  right  off  to 
that  convent  at  Moosh.  But  now  one  of  my  secretaries  will  take  charge  of  you 
and  show  you  our  great  city." 

They  felt  a  great  and  bitter  disappointment,  but  were  so  charmed  with  the 
paternal  care  and  kindness  of  the  patriarch  that  they  turned  back  on  their  long 
journey  to  Moosh  under  very  comforting  circumstances,  finding  their  new  var- 
tabed very  social  and  entertaining.  The  last  evening  before  arriving  at  Moosh, 
while  eating  their  evening  meal,  the  vartabed  coolly  said  to  them,  "  His  Holiness 
the  patriarch  told  you  a  great  lie  about  that  school.  He  has  tried  to  close  it, 
but  he  could  n't,  and  he  never  will."  "  O  vartabed,  why  did  you  not  tell  us  and 
we  would  never  have  turned  back  ?  "  "  Because  the  patriarch  made  me  respon- 
sible for  bringing  you  safe  to  Moosh." 

For  a  time  they  were  contented,  and  then  they  said  :  "  This  is  the  same  thing 
over  again,  and  Muggerditch  vartabed  is  no  better  than  the  old  one.  We  cannot 
do  anything  but  just  be  his  servants."  "  Well,"  said  Simone,  "  I  am  thinking  of 
the  great  Armenian  convent  at  Jerusalem,  and  I  am  going  to  see  Hadji  Haroo- 
tune,  who  has  just  arrived  from  his  pilgrimage." 

He  returned  from  this  interview  fully  determined  to  go  to  the  convent  at  Jeru- 
salem. He  said  to  his  roommate,  "  Up  !  let  us  go  to  Jerusalem.  There  we 
shall  find  just  what  we  want."  "Jerusalem!"  said  Steppan,  "Jerusalem!  Is 
not  Jerusalem  sixty  or  seventy  days'  journey  distant?  No,  brother  Simone, 
don't  talk  to  me  of  Jerusalem  !  " 

So  Simone  valiantly  started  alone  for  Jerusalem.  He  would  fall  in  with  some 
pilgrims  by  the  way  and,  if  not,  it  was  only  going  from  one  place  to  another, 
and  it  was  of  little  consequence  whether  it  should  take  him  seventy  or  eighty 
days.     He  would  get  the  theology  of  the  Bible  near  its  source. 

Steppan  remained  without  any  congenial  comrade  in  the  convent  of  Moosh  ; 
Simone  had  gone  ;  would  doubtless  die  by  the  way ;  he  would  never  see  nor  hear 
of  him  again.  He  reproached  himself  for  not  going  with  him.  But  now  he 
thought,  "  I  know  all  about  that  school  of  the  Bible  at  Bebek,  on   the  Bos- 


The  History  of  Two  Armenian  Hoys. 


ir  • 


phorus."  He  had  been  so  near  to  it  he  could  find  it  without  any  help  from  His 
Holiness,  the  patriarch.  So  he  took  again  the  long,  wearisome  journey  and  in 
due  time  appeared  at  the  Bebek  Seminary  of  the  American    Hoard,  with  the 


THE  BEBEK  SEMINARY   BUILDING. 


simple  testimony  of  good  character.  He  proved  to  be  a  diligent  student,  with 
an  earnest  desire  to  know  the  Bible.  He  was  puzzled  to  find  so  many  things  to 
study  and  a  long  course  of  four  years.  He  told  me  nothing  of  his  remark- 
able history.     He  did  not  know  it  was  remarkable.     He  told  me  about  the  con- 


i  14  The  History  of  Two  Armenian  Boys. 

vent  and  his  useless  life  as  a  "  pocravore."  He  had  tried  two  vartabeds,  and  all 
he  did  was  personal  service,  for  which  they  praised  him  when  it  was  satisfactory, 
and  when  it  was  not  they  called  him  pig,  donkey,  dog,  and  other  vile  epithets 
which  he  was  ashamed  to  repeat. 

After  a  few  months,  when  winter  rains  were  abundant,  I  was  watching  one  day 
some  Bebek  students  in  their  athletic  contests,  hurling  a  heavy  stone.  There 
was  a  knock  at  the  gate  and  I  pulled  the  line  which  opened  it  about  fifty  or  sixty- 
feet  distant,  and  a  poor  young  man  of  forlorn  aspect,  clothed  in  the  black  serge 
of  the  interior,  entered  dripping  with  rain.  The  students  all  stopped  to  look 
at  him  as  he  made  direct  for  the  door  where  I  stood.  When  about  halfway, 
Steppan  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise,  rushed  out  from  under  cover, 
clasped  the  dripping  fellow  in  his  arms  and  kissed  him  on  both  his  wet  shoulders. 
It  was  the  long-lost  Simone,  who  with  no  less  joy  returned  the  salute  on  drier 
spots.     The  forty  students  did  not  fully  understand  it,  but  they  applauded. 

Simone  was  then  called  upon  to  explain  how  on  starting  for  Jerusalem  he  had 
brought  up  at  Bebek.  He  had  found  the  famous  convent  after  a  very  long  and 
wearisome  journey.  He  was  at  first  received  with  honor  and  kindness.  The 
convent  was  proud  to  know  of  its  reputation  so  far  north  of  the  Taurus  Moun- 
tains. But  he  found  nothing  to  satisfy  the  craving  of  his  soul.  That  one  idea, 
the  theology  of  the  Bible,  had  taken  possession  of  him,  and  the  many  supplica- 
tions to  the  saints  and  the  virgin,  their  fastings,  and  vigils,  and  shoutings,  and 
their  narratives  of  martyrdoms  and  miracles,  did  not  meet  his  case.  When  they 
found  him  incorrigible  they  ejected  him  from  the  convent  with  bitter  reproaches 
as  a  heretic. 

In  the  mean  time  he  had  heard  of  Bishop  Gobet,  who  received  him  very  kindly 
and  listened  to  his  story  with  astonishment.  "  Oh,"  said  the  bishop,  "  you  must 
now  go  to  that  seminary  at  Bebek  ;  I  will  pay  your  fare  and  give  you  a  note  to 
Mr.  Hamlin ;  and  when  you  get  there,  write  to  your  brother  Steppan  to  come 
and  join  you."  Each  met  the  other  with  unspeakable  astonishment  and  joy  in 
our  court. 

Who  shall  say  that  the  Spirit  of  God  did  not  impel  these  poor  ignorant  youths 
in  their  long  quest  after  the  truth?  They  still  believed  in  the  intercession  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  the  saints,  but  as  they  came  to  apprehend  the  fulness  of  Christ 
everything  of  that  kind  disappeared.     They  received  the  truth  in  love. 

After  finishing  their  course  with  the  approbation  and  affection  of  their  teachers 
they  returned  to  the  region  of  their  Eastern  home.  Steppan  became  pastor  of 
a  church  at  Haineh,  and  Simone  became  the  helper  of  the  missionaries  at  Bitlis. 
More  is  therefore  known  of  him.  He  witnessed  a  good  confession.  The  Misses 
Ely,  of  Bitlis,  now  in  this  country,  speak  warmly  of  his  Christian  character. 
He  was  a  true  disciple,  humble,  earnest,  devout,  fearless.  He  led  many  souls  out 
of  darkness  into  light.  All  men  knew  that  he  walked  with  God.  Both  he  and 
Steppan  were  called  home  before  the  eras  of  massacre  and  outrage  began,  and 
they  have  doubtless  received  into  everlasting  habitations  many  of  their  converts 
wearing  the  martyrs'  crown. 

The  history  of  these  two  youths  affords  interesting  illustrations  of  the  provi- 
dence and  grace  of  God. 


THE  BURIAL  OF  BROTHER  OSCAN. 


BY   REV.    (  VHUS    M  V.MI.IN,    D.D. 


I  look  back  with  great  interest  to  the  first  Protestant  burial  from  the  member- 
ship of  the  much  hated  and  persecuted  church  at  Constantinople  which  occurred 
in  1846.  The  deceased  was  a  Mr.  Oscan,  by  far  the  oldest  member  at  the  for- 
mation. I  had  always  admired  his  venerable  and  dignified  person.  His  tall 
form,  his  fine  countenance,  and  his  white  beard  and  hair  would  attract  every  eye 
in  any  assembly.  I  supposed  him  to  have  been  eighty  or  past  when  he  made  his 
public  confession  of  the  faith  he  had 
long  cherished.  He  was  then  in  fail- 
ing health.  He  had  lost  property 
and  position  among  his  people,  but 
he  poured  forth  his  expressions  of 
joy  and  gratitude  that  he  had  lived 
to  see  the  first  evangelical  church 
among  the  Armenians,  and  he  looked 
forward  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
through  the  empire.  It  was  his 
death  song.  In  a  few  weeks  he 
began  to  fail,  and  he  departed  in 
peace  and  hope. 

The  event  was  waited  for  by  the 
persecutors.  The  roughs  boasted 
that  his  body  should  never  be 
buried.  They  would  seize  it  when 
carried  out  to  burial,  tie  a  rope  to 
the  feet  and  drag  it  through  the 
streets  of  the  city.  It  was  an  occa- 
sion of  great  anxiety  and  alarm. 
We  apprehended  that  a  mob  of 
thousands  might  assemble.  All  the 
male  members  of  the  church  and 
many"  evangelicals"  not  members, 


THE    PERSECUTING    PATRIARCH. 


to  the  number  of  between  one  and  two  hundred,  assembled  both  to  honor 
the  dead  and  guard  his  remains.  Our  minister  resident,  Mr.  Carr,  sent  the 
dragoman  to  the  chief  of  police  and  governor  of  that  side  of  the  Bosphorus 
to  inform  him  of  the  threats  of  the  mob  to  seize  the  body  and  drag  it 
through  the  streets.     He  listened  with  Mussulman  gravity,  and  simply  rephed  : 


"5 


1 1 6  The  Burial  of  Brother  Oscan. 

"Inshallah  bouile  bir  shay  etmeijeckler"  (If  it  please  God,  they  will  do  no 
such  thing).  This  was  quite  satisfactory,  and  he  sent  sixteen  cavasses  to  guard 
the  procession.  Our  minister  and  his  aides  were  out  on  horseback  with  consid- 
erable display.  The  procession  moved  silently  through  the  "  Grand  Rue  "  of 
Pera,  attracting  great  attention.  The  brethren  bore  the  casket,  the  pastor 
walked  in  front  carrying  a  large  Bible,  the  missionaries  were  with  the  rear  of  the 
column  mixed  in  with  the  brethren.  The  street  was  lined  with  a  curious  crowd 
on  both  sides,  and  one  could  hear  various  remarks  in  various  languages,  such  as 
"This  is  the  new  sect  of  Armenians."  "  No  crosses,  no  candles,  no  chants." 
"  Sixteen  cavasses  !  By  Gemini !  the  government  is  going  to  protect  them  any- 
how !  "  "  lis  sont  des  braves  hommes,"  said  a  Frenchman,  meaning  "  They  are 
a  very  decent  looking  set,"  etc. 

The  point  of  anxiety  was  reached  when  we  passed  the  Taxim  into  the  open, 
and  there  would  be  nearly  half  a  mile  of  exposure  to  the  mob.  There  was  no 
mob  there.  Evidently  the  police  had  dispersed  them  or  prevented  their  assem- 
bling. They  were  really  collected  on  the  gorge  on  our  left  out  of  sight.  As 
we  approached  the  grave  we  saw  a  multitude  surrounding  it,  but  there  were 
three  or  four  bodies  of  the  Turkish  troops  going  through  with  their  daily  drill. 
They  were  on  every  side  of  the  grave.  Dr.  Dwight  remarked  :  "  This  noise  of 
fife  and  drum  will  prevent  our  funeral  service  from  being  heard,  but  we  had 
better  have  noise  and  safety  than  the  assault  of  a  mob."  The  body  was  placed 
by  the  grave,  and  the  pastor,  Rev.  Absalom  Hachadourian,  stood  upon  the  bank 
of  earth  to  begin  his  service,  and  instantly  the  music  ceased.  The  multitude 
believed  this  new  sect  was  infidel.  They  were  disciples  of  Voltaire.  As  they 
had  rejected  the  ceremonies  of  their  old  religion,  it  was  said  they  had  no  religion. 
The  pastor  saw  his  opportunity  not  only  with  the  multitude  but  with  those  Turk- 
ish soldiers,  and  he  broke  forth  in  Turkish  with  a  powerful  voice  :  "  We  evan- 
gelical Armenians  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  in  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead  —  they  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrection  of  life,  and  they 
that  have  done  evil  unto  the  resurrection  of  condemnation."  Continuing  he 
uttered  a  brief  confession  of  faith,  read  some  passages  from  the  Bible,  with 
brief  remarks,  the  soldiers  evidently  giving  profound  attention.  A  prayer  was 
offered,  the  casket  placed  in  the  grave,  the  grave  rapidly  filled  up,  the  earth 
smoothed  over  and  sprinkled  with  water.  The  pastor  lifted  up  his  hands  and  pro- 
nounced the  benediction,  and  instantly  the  military  music  burst  forth  on  every 
side.  It  was  as  profoundly  impressive  as  though  the  angel  of  the  Lord  had 
come  down  on  guard.  Were  the  troops  accidentally  there  ?  or  was  it  so  planned 
as  to  seem  accidental  and  yet  most  effectively  overawe  the  mob?  "  If  it  please 
God,  they  will  do  no  such  thing." 

We  formed  the  procession  again  and  were  returning  to  the  city  full  of  grati- 
tude and  admiration,  when  suddenly  there  burst  up  from  that  gorge,  as  from  the 
bottomless  pit,  a  howling  mob  of  roughs  to  the  number  of  many  hundreds,  — 
some  considered  them  a  thousand,  —  hurling  stones  and  brickbats  with  such  in- 
sane fury  that  they  all  went  over  our  heads.  The  sixteen  cavasses  formed  in  line 
with  naked  scimitars,  and  prevented  the  mob  from  rushing  on  us.  They  skirted 
along  for  some  distance  and  the  stones  fell  thick  among  us.     "  Keep  far  apart, 


The  Burial  of  Brother  ( ^scan. 


"7 


n8 


The  Burial  of  Brother  Oscan. 


brethren,"  said  Dr.  Dwight ;  "  give  open  spaces  for  the  stones  ;  don't  run ;  take 
long  steps  j  in  three  or  four  minutes  we  '11  reach  the  Taxim."  Dr.  Dwight  was 
hit  a  glancing  blow  on  the  left  shoulder ;  one  brother  was  knocked  down,  but 
they  picked  him  up  and  marched  him  right  along ;  and  some  few  others,  four  or 
five  perhaps,  were  hit.     No  one  was  seriously  injured.     When  I  think  of  the  stones 


Ww^::Wt;- 


ff,% 


',  r\  T1  IT  5  5  -i  H  H 


MOSQUE   OF    SULTAN    ACHMED,   CONSTANTINOPLE. 


I  saw  hurtling  through  the  air,  our  escape  seems  wonderful.  I  think  nine  tenths  of 
the  stones  went  over  us,  and  nine  tenths  of  the  other  tenth  fell  in  the  open  spaces. 
We  reached  the  Taxim,  where  we  entered  again  the  "  Grand  Rue"  of  Pera  ;  our 
sixteen  cavasses  formed  in  our  rear  and  stopped  the  mob.  The  brethren  quietly 
dispersed  to  their  homes,  and  our  venerated  and  beloved  brother  Oscan  slept  in 
peace. 


MODERN  MARTYRDOM  IN  ARMENIA. 


BY   KEY.    JollX    K.    BROWNE,    <  >K    HARPOOT. 


Some  thirty  years  ago  one  of  the  Harpoot  missionaries  on  entering  an 
Armenian  village  about  dusk  saw  a  typical  priest  of  venerable  appearance  leaving 
the  church  with  his  people,  having  just  finished  the  sunset  service.  The  mis- 
sionary, as  is  always  our  custom,  courteously  saluted  the  priest,  when  a  dialogue 
began,  in  substance  as  follows  :  — 

"  How  does  life  seem  to  you,  my  aged  brother,  as  you  draw  near  to  the 
grave?     You  must  be  very  old." 

"  Yes  ;  I  am  over  eighty,  and  have  been  a  priest  fifty  years." 

"  Have  you  fed  your  flock  like  a  good  shepherd?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  as  well  as  I  could,  though  they  haven't  eaten  very  well,"  replied 
the  priest,  looking  upon  the  crowd  and  grinning  broadly. 

They,  in  turn,  shouted  derisively,  and  one  of  them  contemptuously  replied  : 
"  What  does  he  know  more  than  we  that  he  should  feed  us  ?  " 

"  If  this  be  true,  my  brother,"  said  the  missionary,  "  may  God  spare  your  life 
to  atone  for  such  neglect  !  " 

"  No,  no,"  answered  another,  "  his  time  is  up,  and  so  let  him  die  the  death  of 
an  ass." 

"  Oh,  why  do  you  speak  like  this  of  your  priest?  You  should  respect  his 
white  hairs  and  sacred  office." 

To  this  one  of  the  "  chief  men  "  of  the  village  said  :  "  Why  should  we  honor 
that  which  he  does  not  honor?"  Then,  turning  to  his  priest,  he  continued: 
"You  know  you  have  fed  this  people  only  what  you  have  eaten.  You  have 
taught  us  drunkenness  and  wickedness,  even  to  blaspheme  and  profane  the- 
Sabbath." 

To  this  awful  charge  the  priest  made  no  reply,  when  another  old  man  drew 
near  and  added  :  "  All  my  life  I  have  been  one  of  your  people,  and  see,  I  am 
only  an  animal.  I  am  a  lost  sinner,  for  I  know  nothing  of  the  salvation  the 
missionary  speaks  of."  The  wretched  old  priest  waited  to  hear  no  more,  but 
hobbled  away,  followed  by  the  hooting  of  the  crowd. 

Among  the  indirect  results  of  missions  in  Turkey,  which  to  many  seem  quite 
as  important  as  the  direct,  is  the  change  in  both  the  priests  and  people  of  the 
Armenian  Church.  They  are  also  far  more  friendly,  even  cordial,  to  us,  while 
the  people  are  now  demanding  a  pure  and  educated  clergy.  But  whatever  may 
have  been  their  errors  this  certainly  can  be  said  of  the  priests,  that  during  the 
ei^ht  centuries  of  Moslem  rule  they  have  kept  intact  the  ancient  Gregorian  ritual 


120 


Modern  Martyrdom  in  Armenia. 


and  creed  and,  with  rare  exceptions,  their  people  loyal  to  their  faith  in  spite  of 
all  allurements  to  the  faith  of  their  rulers.     This,  I  say,  is  a  noble  record. 

During  the  recent  and  present  massacres,  when  fearful  pressure  has   been 


ARMENIAN    VILLAGE    PRIESTS. 

brought  to  bear  on  priests  and  people  to  save  life  and  honor  by  formally  accept- 
ing Mohammedanism,  they  have  set  their  people  splendid  examples  of  heroic 
faith  and  often  preferred  death  by  torture  to  denying  their  Lord. 

Honor,  then,  to  a  church  and  priesthood  which,  though  we  cannot  but  think 


Modern  Martyrdom  in  Armenia.  121 

they  have  wandered  far  from  the  purity  of  the  "  faith  once  delivered  unto  the 
saints,"  can  yet  enable  men,  women,  and  children  to  witness  such  a  good  con- 
fession and  die  so  grandly  ! 

Turning  now  from  the  priests  of  the  old  Gregorian  Church  to  the  pastors  and 
preachers  of  the  Protestant  churches,  the  reports  come  from  every  side  that  "  as 
they  lived  well  so  they  die  well." 

Up  to  this  date  little  has  been  heard  from  the  more  distant  parts  of  our  field, 
but  tidings  from  the  nearer  villages  show  that,  though  the  government  has 
frequently  declared  "  the  Protestants  are  the  most  loyal  of  our  subjects,"  yet  our 
communities  have  suffered  the  same  pillage,  butchery,  and  barbarities  as  those 
of  the  Gregorians. 

One  pastor,  after  more  than  thirty  years  of  most  faithful  shepherding  of 
his  people,  "  after  being  awfully  tortured  to  make  him  deny  his  faith,"  joyfully 
laid  down  his  life  as  a  "good  shepherd  "  before  all  his  flock. 

A  graduate  of  the  last  class  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Harpoot,  who 
daily  walked  with  God,  "  is  not,  for  God  took  him,"  though  by  a  most  painful 
death  by  torture,  thus  grandly  fulfilling  the  prophecy  of  his  name,  which  meant 
"  martyr."  A  classmate  and  kindred  spirit  had  a  life  as  well  as  death  of  singular 
beauty  and  loyalty  to  duty,  of  which  the  following  is  a  brief  outline  :  — 

Born  in  the  Syrian  quarter  of  Harpoot,  he  was  taken,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  to 
the  famous  monastery  of  the  Golden  Crocus,  near  Mardin  (see  Missionary  Herald, 
January,  1895),  to  be  educated  as  a  monk  or  for  the  priesthood.  In  spite  of 
many  favors,  he  grew  more  and  more  dissatisfied  with  the  life  and  teaching  there, 
and  soon  left  it  to  find  purity  and  peace  of  mind  in  another.  Failing  there  also, 
he  sought  it  in  others,  and  finally  fled  to  a  mountain  cave,  hoping  that  by  living  a 
rigidly  aesthetic  life  and  giving  all  his  time  to  reading,  meditation,  prayer,  and 
fasting  he  might  satisfy  his  spiritual  cravings. 

Thus  he  lived  in  solitude,  barefoot  in  the  snows  of  winter,  subsisting  mainly  on 
wild  fruits,  herbs,  and  acorns,  supplemented  by  occasional  gifts  from  villagers, 
who  regarded  him  as  a  being  of  almost  supernatural  holiness. 

After  six  years  of  this  painful  unrest  and  hunger  of  soul,  trying  to  satisfy  con- 
science and  head  by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  Christ  was  made  known  to  him  at  the 
hands  of  a  colporter,  who,  hearing  of  him,  after  much  weariness  and  peril,  finally 
reached  his  cave.  Then  was  repeated  the  story  of  Philip  and  the  eunuch,  or, 
more  nearly,  that  of  Ananias  and  Saul. 

As  the  firelight  of  the  cave  died  down  and  the  morning  light  was  breaking,  the 
faithful  colporter  was  allowed  to  find  rest  and  the  soul  of  the  truth-seeker 
remained  flooded  with  the  light  that  was  to  "  grow  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the 
perfect  day."     Then  the  monk  disappeared  and  the  Christian  remained. 

We  must  pass  the  rest  of  his  history  merely  in  outline.  Upon  the  solicitation 
of  one  of  the  missionaries  of  Mardin  he  entered  the  mission  school  there,  and 
after  completing  his  theological  course  became  an  earnest,  eloquent  preacher 
in  Arabic. 

Subsequently  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to  visit  his  parents  at  Harpoot,  whom  he 
had  not  seen  for  fourteen  years.  They  found  it  impossible  to  be  separated  in  their 
old  age  from  their  Joseph,  and  they  begged  him  to  remain  and  preach  in  the 
Harpoot  field.     This  necessitated  learning  the  Armenian  language,  but  his  filial 


122 


Modern  Martyrdom  in  Armenia. 


love  stood  the  test  and  we  gratified  his  ardor  for  study  by  allowing  him  to  take 
an  additional  course  of  theological  study,  and  he  graduated  with  honor  from 
Harpoot  Seminary  in  the  class  of  '93. 

He  was  eagerly  sought  by  many  places  for  their  preacher,  but,  hearing  of  a 
wine-loving  church,  he  visited  it  to  rebuke  them  severely,  and  they  were  so  won 
by  his  fearlessness  and  faithfulness  that  he  was  pressed  out  of  measure  to  be 
their  pastor.  They  gladly  complied  with  his  hard  conditions,  and  when  he  had 
secured  one  of  the  choicest  of  our  teachers  as  his  wife,  the  whole  village  joyfully 
received  them  to  their  new  parsonage. 

Humanly  speaking,  never  was  there  a  future  of  richer  promise  than  of  those 
devoted  servants  of  Christ,  when  the  Koordish  hordes  swept  down  towards  that 
happy  village.     Compelled  by  their  flock  to  leave  before  the  marauders  entered, 


CLASS   OF    1893,    HARPOOT   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 


they  reached  Harpoot.  In  the  first  attack  his  wife,  "faithful  unto  death,"  was 
killed  by  a  bullet  and  so  was  mercifully  spared  seeing  his  arms  hacked  off  and 
his  body  hacked  to  pieces. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  .  .  .  that  they  may  rest  from 
their  labors  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

Still  we  must  not  think  that  such  noble  examples  of  martyrdom  are  to  be  found 
chiefly  among  priests,  pastors,  preachers,  or  teachers.  Quite  as  notable  and  very 
numerous  ones  are  found  among  the  people  and  even  among  our  pupils. 

In  a  recent  letter  from  Harpoot,  Eastern  Turkey,  many  have  read  this  account : 
"  In  this  city  large  numbers  of  men  having  been  confronted  with  the  alternative 
of  denying  their  faith,  or  death,  boldly  declared  their  faith  and  were  instantly 
shot  down  or  butchered  in  cold  blood.  Two  Protestant  preachers  and  one  Syrian 
priest  were  thus  murdered." 

At  Ichme  a  large  number  of  people  were  crowded  into  the  church  and  with 
them  their  aged  pastor.  They  were  taken  out  one  by  one,  and  whoever  would  not 
renounce  his  faith  and  accept  the  other  was  shot  down  or  butchered.  Fifty-two 
were  thus  killed,  and  the  pastor  among  the  first.     Our  Protestants   are  about 


Modern  Martyrdom  in  Armenia. 


exterminated  ;  the  Gregorian  Church  is  turned  into   a  mosque,  and  our  chapel 
into  a  stable. 

"At  another  village,  two  hours  from  Ichme,  on  the  Euphrates,  some  were 
killed  (probably  men)  and  a  large  number,  mostly  women  and  girls,  were  being 
taken  to  a  neighboring  Turkish  village  to  be  forced  to  change  their  faith.  While 
on  their  way,  in  their  desperation,  fifty-five  rushed  into  the  river  and  were 
drowned  rather  than  deny  their  faith  and  meet  a  fate  to  them  worse  than  death. 
••  At  another  village  not  far  from   Harpoot  many  more  were  killed,  and  the 

wives  and  girls  taken 
into  the  houses  of  the 
Moslems.  In  scores 
of  villages  plundered 
and  burned,  the  peo- 
ple have  met  with  a 
like  fate." 

Another     instance 
shows  that  our  school 
girls,  even  in  extreme 
peril,    showed    the 
fruits  of  their  Puritan 
training.   The  follow- 
ing is  written  by  one 
of  their  teachers  :  "  I 
mentioned  that  some 
of  our  party  became 
separated  from  us  in 
our  flight.     The  next 
day   we    heard    that 
they  were  at  an  inn  ; 
so  men  were  sent  to 
bring  them  to   us. 
Such   weeping   and 
embracing    as    there 
was  when  they  came  ! 
They   had  had   such 
narrow     escapes    all 
the  way,  fleeing  from 
one  place  to  another. 
Again  and  again  they  were  urged  to  deny  their  faith,  and  threatened  if  they  did 
not.     But  every  one  stood  firm.     We  have  great  cause  for  thanksgiving  that  not 
one  of  our  boarding  girls  was  lost  to  us.     We  hear,  however,  that  two  of  our 
day  pupils  have  been  carried  off  from  their  homes.     What  a  fate  I     How  much 
worse  than  death  !     Our  girls  were  very  brave  and  quiet  through  all  the  fear  and 
excitement.     Each  girl  fled  with  her  Bible,  and  that  was  all  they  saved." 


TURKISH    BRIGANDS. 


A  MARTYRED  PREACHER  IN  TURKEY. 

-♦ 

About  ninety  miles  east  of  Aintab,  in  Central  Turkey,  is  the  city  of  Oorfa, 
which  was  called  Edessa  by  the  Greek  historians.  Tradition  makes  it  the  same 
as  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  from  which  place  Abraham  set  out  for  the  land  of 
Canaan.  In  this  city  in  the  year  1838  was  born,  of  Armenian  parents,  a  boy 
whose  name  was  Hagop  Abouhaiatian.  His  father  died  when  the  lad  was  two 
years  old,  and  the  property  which  would  have  supported  the  children  was  wasted, 
and  young  Hagop  was  obliged  to  go  to  work  in  a  weavers'  shop,  where  he 
learned  to  read.  Half  of  each  day  was  spent  in  the  shop  and  the  other  half 
in  study. 

When  Hagop  was  eight  or  nine  years  of  age  he  heard  people  say  that  some 
people  from  the  other  side  of  the  world  had  come  to  Aintab  and  Smyrna,  and 
that  they  were  dreadful  heretics,  telling  people  that  their  fasts  and  anointings 
and  worship  of  the  Virgin  and  other  images  were  useless  and  wrong.  These 
were  the  American  missionaries  who,  Hagop  was  taught,  were  trying  to  turn 
the  Armenians  from  the  true  faith.  But  a  little  later  a  man  came  to  Oorfa 
bringing  a  number  of  Bibles  for  sale.  The  Armenian  bishop  declared  that  these 
Bibles  were  heretical,  and  ordered  the  man  to  leave  the  city ;  but  the  real  fault 
he  found  with  the  Bibles  was  that  they  were  in  the  language  which  the  people 
could  understand  and  not  in  the  old  Armenian,  such  as  the  priests  read  in  the 
churches,  but  which  very  few  of  the  people  understood. 

A  little  later  a  Christian  physician  came  to  Oorfa  and  often  read  the  Bible  to 
his  patients.  In  a  story  of  his  own  life  which  Hagop  wrote  in  his  later  years 
we  find  this  record  made  of  his  going  to  listen  to  this  physician.  It  was  when 
he  was  about  fourteen  years  old  :  — 

"  One  Sunday  morning  I  thought  I  would  go  and  see  him,  and  if  I  should 
find  any  following  him,  I  would  go  and  complain  about  it  to  those  who  had 
authority,  so  as  to  injure  them.  I  was  afraid  of  being  seen  to  go  there,  lest  I 
should  be  prosecuted,  so  I  chose  a  time  when  I  would  not  be  seen  by  anybody. 
On  entering  the  room  I  found  there  were  about  ten  or  twelve  present,  some  of 
whom  were  discussing  concerning  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  and  I  learned 
that  the  Protestants  refused  to  accept  anything  not  found  in  the  New  Testament. 
Although  I  had  gone  with  a  spirit  of  enmity  against  this  man  and  the  doctrine 
which  he  taught,  I  was  surprised  at  his  knowledge  of  Holy  Scripture  and  the 
words  of  grace  which  he  spoke  about  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  listened  for  two 
hours  and  then  returned  home.  I  could  not  forget  what  I  had  heard,  and  the 
desire  to  hear  him  again  was  growing  in  my  heart.  Yet  I  feared  to  arouse  a 
spirit  of  persecution  on  the  part  of  my  mother  and  relatives.  However,  after 
eight  days,  I  again  went  to  see  him  secretly,  and  began  to  converse  with  him 
respecting  the  ceremonies  of  the  Gregorian  (Armenian)  Church,  but  I  was  quite 
unable  to  answer  him.     He  urged  me  to  read  the  Epistle  to  the   Romans,  and 


A  Martyred  Preacher  in  Turkey. 


125 


the  third  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  For  six  months  this  man  labored 
to  bring  me  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Saviour,  and  all  this  while  was  praying  for 
me.  At  last  the  grace  of  God  visited  me,  and  the  portion  of  Scripture  by  which 
it  pleased  God  to  do  so  was  the  seventh  chapter  of  Romans  ;  and  having  faith 
that  only  Jesus  could  save  me  from  such  a  wretched  state,  I  was  not  ashamed  to 
confess  it.  Leaving  all  my  cowardly  and  dreadful  difficulties  on  him,  without 
conferring  with 
flesh  and  blood, 
I  confessed  the 
truth  of  the 
Bible.  This  was 
in  i  8  5  3  .  By 
strength  re- 
ceived from  the 
Lord  I  succeed- 
e d  in  keeping 
the  treasures  of 
his  salvation  in 
this  earthen  ves- 
sel. The  result 
of  my  confession 
was  my  expul- 
sion from  the 
church  and  the 
school,  and  hav- 
ing been  anathe- 
m  a  t  i  z  e  d ,  my 
friends  and  rela- 
tives turned 
against  me,  and 
my  dear  mother 
refused  to  see 
me  for  one  year. 
Human  nature 
could  not  have 
borne  up  under 
the  trials  which 
were  my  daily 
experience,  had 
God  not  been  my 

light,  my  salvation,  and  the  protector  of  my  life.     My  confession  of  truth  not 
only  changed  me  spiritually,  but  entirely  altered  all  my  prospects  in  life." 

Notwithstanding  these  persecutions,  Hagop  remained  steadfast,  going  to  Aintab* 
where  he  was  received  into  the  church  by  Dr.  Schneider,  and  joining  a  class 
which  was  to  receive  training  for  six  months.  After  this  he  began  to  go  about 
as  preacher  and  teacher.  Here  is  a  little  incident  from  his  autobiography  show- 
ing how  he  was  accustomed  to  work  :  — 


THE   OLD    TOWER   OF   THE   SCHOOL   OF    EDESSA,  OORFA. 


126 


A  Martyred  PreacJier  in  Tiirkey. 


"  Every  Lord's  Day  from  ioo  to  200  people  gathered  in  this  small  room  (for 
the  people  sat  on  the  floor,  as  is  the  custom,  and  packed  into  little  space).  The 
schoolroom  also  was  a  low,  dark  little  room.  In  this  schoolroom  I  had  from 
fifty  to  sixty  children  intrusted  to  my  care,  to  teach  them  the  Bible  and  how  to 
live  Christian  lives,  as  well  as  arithmetic  and  the  languages  in  common  use, 
Turkish  and  Armenian.  Up  to  the  present  time  there  had  been  no  definite 
distinction  between  the  duties  of  preacher  and  teacher.  So  I  often  led  the 
prayer-meetings,  visited  the  people  and  read  the  Bible  in  their  homes,  or 
preached  in  the  chapel,  as  well  as  instructed  the  children.  About  half  an  hour's 
walk  from  the  city  three  Armenian  families  resided,  and  the  head  of  one  of  them 
had  been  converted  with  his  household.  He  earnestly  invited  me  to  give  the 
Sabbath-school  lesson  in  his  house.  When  we  gathered  there  and  had  knelt  in 
prayer,  on  arising  from  our  knees  we  found  the  house  surrounded  by  about  100 


THE  OLD  ARMENIAN  CHURCH  OF  OORFA    (WHERE   THE    MASSACRE  OCCURRED). 

men.  We  hastened  from  the  spot,  but  had  gone  but  a  little  way  when  our  perse- 
cutors, enraged  at  finding  that  we  had  escaped  from  the  house,  followed  and 
began  to  stone  us.  Of  course,  in  seeking  to  injure  us  these  poor  deluded 
people  thought  they  were  worshiping  God.  Fortunately,  nothing  serious 
occurred." 

We  have  not  room  to  give  details  of  the  next  few  years  during  which  Abou- 
haiatian  came  to  America  and  afterwards  went  to  Germany,  fitting  himself  to  be 
a  preacher  to  his  people.  He  was  greatly  impressed  by  what  he  saw  in  Germany 
connected  with  the  history  of  Luther,  and  his  ambition  was  fired  to  be  as  strong 
for  the  truth  as  were  some  of  the  martyrs  of  Germany.  Returning  to  Turkey 
in  187 1,  he  accepted  a  call  to  be  pastor  of  the  church  in  Oorfa,  and  within  six 
years  sixty-two  new  members  were  added  to  the  church.     On  pleasant  Sundays 


A  Martyred  Preacher  in  Turkey. 


[27 


his  church  was  not  only  filled  with  people  but  ioo  or  more  would  stand  outside 
of  the  house  and  listen.  Later  on  he  went  to  Europe  to  secure  fund-,  for  the 
building  of  a  church,  securing  there  about  $4,000.  On  returning  to  Oorfa,  more 
than  100  members  of  the  church  met  him  when  he  was  nine  hours  from  the 
city  and,  as  they  came  nearer,  other  hundreds  were  added  to  the  company  that 
came  to  welcome  him.  The  church  which  he  had  desired  to  build  was  after 
great  labor  completed,  and  was  one  of  the  best  Protestant  churches  in  Turkey. 
For  over  twenty-five  years  this  man  labored  amid  many  trials  and  difficulties, 
but  with  the  constant  blessing  of  the  Lord.  A  year  and  a  half  ago  his  wife 
died,  leaving  him  with  six  children  whose  bright  faces  you  will  see  in  the 
accompanying 
photo-engraving. 

And  now  comes 
a  sad  and  yet  noble 
sequel.  Miss  Mel- 
linger,  who  was  then 
a  missionary  of  the 
American  Board  at 
Oorfa,  reports  that 
after  the  first  mas- 
sacre at  that  city, 
which  took  place 
October  28,  1895, 
there  was  a  reign 
of  terror.  For 
many  weeks  the 
Turks  went  from 
house  to  house  with 
threats  of  venge- 
ance on  those  who 
did  not  become 
Moslems.  During 
all  this  time  pastor 
Abouhaiatian  was  a 
tower  of  strength, 
comforting  the  peo- 
ple  in   their  woes, 

trying  to  secure  relief  in  their  distress.  Another  massacre  followed  on  Decem- 
ber 28  and  29,  during  which  probably  8,000  people  were  killed.  Some  3,000 
of  them  had  congregated  in  the  Old  Armenian  Church  of  which  there  is  a  pic- 
ture on  the  previous  page.  The  walls  and  roof  are  of  stone,  and  it  seemed  a  safe 
place  of  refuge  from  the  wrath  of  the  mob.  But  the  building  was  fired,  and 
those  who  did  not  perish  in  the  flames  were  slain  by  the  sword  as  they  tried  to 
escape.  When  the  Turks  saw  the  pastor  they  said,  "  Here  is  Abouhaiatian  ;  we 
must  make  an  end  of  him."  He  asked  for  his  life  for  the  sake  of  his  six  chil- 
dren, but  seeing  that  they  would  not  spare  him  he  said,  "  Do  not  touch  me 
here ;  I  will  come   to  you."     And  while  he  was  going  he  was  shot  dead.     His 


THE  SIX   CHILDREN    OF   MR 


128 


A  Martyred  Preacher  in  Turkey. 


eldest  daughter,  Yeonega,  now  nineteen  years  of  age,  saw  his  body  put  on  an 
animal  and  carried  off  for  burial.  Miss  Shattuck,  writing  about  this  terrible  ex- 
perience, says  that  Yeonega  and  the  other  children  were  with  her,  as  well  as  300 
others  whom  she  was  able  to  shield  during  that  awful  storm  of  blood.  She 
speaks  of  Yeonega  as  calm  and  brave,  though  fully  knowing  what  a  loss  she 
has  sustained,  and  feeling  the  responsibility  for  the  care  of  the  younger  children. 
Yeonega  herself  afterwards  wrote  to  Miss  Mellinger  an  account  of  what  had  hap- 
pened, as  follows :  — 

"  Saturday  morning,  December  28,  after  family  prayers,  my  father  went  to  see 

Miss  Shattuck.  After 
an  hour  he  returned 
home  and  carefully  clos- 
ing the  door  behind 
him,  he  kissed  us  all 
tenderly.  I  saw  by  his 
face  that  something  had 
happened  and  so  said, 
'  Father,  what  is  the 
matter  ? '  And  just  then 
I  heard  fearful  cries  and 
awful  sounds  in  the 
streets.  Father  said, 
'Don't    be    alarmed ; 

.■>^*i     HL^SSfciMttAk  we  w*^  §°  over  to  ^>r* 

^SP-^'  Sfefefe^  Kivork's.'      So    leaving 

everything  we  quickly 
went  over  the  flat  roofs 
to  that  house.  Fifty 
men  were  there,  who 
hid  themselves  the  best 
they  could.  The  Turks 
came,  having  all  kinds 
of  weapons  red  with 
blood.  They  saw  my 
father  and  asked  him  to  preach  to  them,  and  then  they  shot  him  through  the 
heart.  They  killed  over  forty- five  men  in  that  one  place.  As  soon  as  possible 
I  ran  to  my  father.  Before  he  died  he  said  :  '  Fear  not,  the  Lord  is  with  you. 
I  have  no  fear,  for  I  am  going  to  my  dear  Saviour ; '  and  then  he  closed  his 
eyes.  O  my  seralee  (my  dear),  I  sat  there  in  my  grief  and  all  the  world  was 
dark,  blank.  Other  Moslems  came  and  drove  us  all  to  a  great  mosque.  While 
going  many  of  the  young  girls  were  taken  by  the  Turks,  and  I  just  escaped 
being  carried  away  to  a  harem.  After  remaining  in  the  mosque  three  days,  Miss 
S.  sent  soldiers,  who  found  us  naked,  and  we  were  taken  to  her  home  and  she 
prepared  clothing  for  us,  and  we  were  hungry  and  she  gave  us  meat.  How  hard 
it  is  for  us  to  be  without  our  beloved  father  !  We  have  lost  all  —  home,  father  ; 
yet  I  thank  Him  that  in  such  trials  He  has  brought  me  nearer  Him." 


REV.  HAGOP  ABOUHAIATIAN. 


JtULjililLLMj-.. 


INBIA  AND  GEYL0N. 


IN  AND  ABOUT  MADURA. 


by  rev.  i:eoki;e  h.  gutterson. 


The  Atlantic  is  crossed.  The  Britannic  has  transferred  her  mail  to  the 
'•  tender  "  off  Queenstown  and  feels  her  way  up  the  Mersey.  Later  on  you  have 
been  to  the  Tower.  A  few  days  more  and  the  Indian  steamer  is  bearing  you 
down  the  Channel.  Through  the  Bay  of  Biscay  and  the  blue  Mediterranean  ; 
you  have  seen  the  canal  at  Suez  and  the  Bedouin  on  its  banks.  Sinai  frowns  upon 
you  from  the  deserts  of  Arabia.  Rainless  Aden  with  its  memories  of  Keith 
Falconer  is  a  picture  in  your  mind.  The  dangerous  Red  Sea  is  behind  and  the 
broad  sweep  of  the  Indian  Ocean  before  you.  The  Southern  Cross  flashes  upon 
you  from  the  midnight  heavens.  Rounding  Cape  Comorin  and  steering  north- 
ward your  steamer  drops  anchor,  some  bright  morning,  in  the  roadstead  off 
Madras.  Scarcely  has  the  anchor  touched  bottom  before  the  ship  is  sur- 
rounded with  a  swarm  of  strange-looking  boats,  huge,  unwieldy  things,  made  of 
rough  plank  tied  together  with  rope  made  of  cocoanut  fibre.  Each  boat  is 
manned  by  a  dozen  scantily  clad  natives  perched  on  some  rude  crosspieces 
which  serve  as  thwarts.  Every  man  is  pulling  a  long  pole  with  a  spoon-like 
arrangement  at  the  end,  which  does  for  an  oar.  They  are  all  shouting  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  and  if  you  are  a  missionary  you  will  wonder,  as  you  look  down 
upon  them  from  the  rail  of  the  ship,  if  this  is  the  material  upon  which  you  are 
expected  to  work  !  Embarking  in  one  of  these  boats,  they  row  you  within  a  rod 
or  two  of  the  beach,  then  invite  you  to  get  out  upon  their  naked  shoulders  or 
else  into  a  chair,  in  which  you  are  borne  to  the  shore. 

You  are  now  in  Southern  India.  You  have  stepped  out  of  the  restless,  rush- 
ing civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century  into  the  calmer,  more  philosophic  life 
of  twenty  centuries  ago.  In  Madras,  the  flourishing  capital  of  the  Southern 
Presidency,  you  see  Christian  schools  and  churches  side  by  side  with  heathen 
temples  and  shrines.  Upon  its  streets  you  meet  Parsees,  educated  Brahmans, 
wealthy  native  merchants  with  chains  of  gold  about  their  wrists,  English  govern- 
ors, generals,  and  merchants  riding  to  their  offices,  where  the  swinging  punkah 
makes  the  heat  bearable. 

But  we  are  not  to  linger  in  this  great  city.  The  comfortable  second-class  car- 
riage over  the  South  India  Railway  will  take  us  in  twenty-four  hours  to  Madura, 
345  miles  away,  the  centre  of  the  Madura  District,  and  also  the  central  station 
of  the  Madura  Mission  of  the  American  Board.  This  South  India  Railway  is  a 
narrow-gauge  line  under  government  management.  Most  of  its  stations  are 
solidly  built  of  stone,  and  it  runs  for  miles  between  hedges  of  Indian  aloes.  Just 
before  entering  Madura  City,  it  crosses  the  Vaigai  River.     It  was  necessary,  of 


134 


In  and  About  Madura. 


course,  to  bridge  this  river.  It  is  said  that  many  of  the  Brahman  priests  of  the 
temple  and  prominent  natives  in  the  city,  who  were  watching  the  engineers  at 
their  work  while  the  foundations  for  the  piers  were  being  sunk  in  the  bed  of  the 
river,  declared  that  the  patron  goddess  of  the  city  would  never  allow  the  English- 
men to  put  a  bridge  across  that  river.  Very  soon  the  water  began  to  come  in  and 
fill  up  the  deep  holes  in  the  sand.  "  Look,  look  !  "  they  exultingly  shouted,  "  the 
river  goddess  is  here  ;  you  can  never  build  this  bridge."  The  engineers  drew 
off  their  men  and  ceased  operations  while  they  sent  to  Madras  for  a  powerful 
pumping-engine.     This  was  wheeled  into  the  sandy  bed  of  the  river,  the  fires 


VEGETABLE    MARKET    IN     INDIA. 


were  started,  and  very  soon  the  wells  were  pumped  dry  so  that  the  courses  of 
stone  and  Portland  cement  could  be  put  into  their  place.  "  Alas,  alas  !  where  is 
the  goddess?  She  is  of  no  use!"  cried  the  natives.  "You  white  men  are 
gods  ;  hereafter  we  will  worship  you." 

Madura  is  one  of  the  most  rapidly  growing  and  prosperous  cities  in  India.  It 
is  purely  a  native  city,  and  is  a  fine  specimen  of  such.  Several  high  English 
officials  are  stationed  there,  and  their  influence,  together  with  government  enter- 
prise and  native  cooperation,  are  rapidly  making  it  a  place  of  importance  as  a 
business  centre  and  a  source  of  influence.  It  is  a  very  ancient  city,  known 
to  the  Romans,  mentioned  by  Pliny,  and  is  the  stronghold  of  idolatry  and 
caste  in  Southern  India.  There  are  80,000  people  in  Madura  City  to-day,  and 
before  many  years  there  will  be  100,000. 

The  Madura  Mission  of  the  American  Board,  started  in  1S34  in  this 
intellectual  and  religious    centre,  is    now  one  of    the    best    organized  missions 


/;/  ami  About  Madura. 

in  all  India.  Two  and  a  half  miles  out  of  the  city,  on  a  broad,  banyan-shaded 
thoroughfare,   traveled  constantly   by   thousands   of    Hindus,    is  the  "Mission 

College."  A  son  of  Massachusetts,  horn  under  the  elms  <>f  beautiful  Lenox, 
is  now  building  up  and  making  strong  this  Christian  university  under  the  palms 
of  sunny  India.  Let  me  paint  for  you  a  few  of  the  pictures  one  may  see  any 
day  in  and  about  our  Madura  town. 

We  are  standing  near  a  pile  of  rice,  poured  down  in  the  street  just  out  of 
people's  way.  It  suggests  the  green  ricefields  stretching  for  miles  on  every  side 
of  the  city  —  fields  which  have  been  plowed  perhaps  for  twenty  centuries. 
Every  Hindu  eats  rice  if  he  can  get  it.  If  he  can't  afford  it,  he  eats  millet  or  some 
coarser  kind  of  grain.  The  whole  process  of  rice-growing  is  an  interesting  one. 
Before  putting  the  plow  into  the  soil,  water  must  be  let  on  and  allowed  to 
soften  the  earth,  which  has  been  baked  hard  as  a  rock  by  the  sun.  This  water 
is  stored  up  in  great  irrigation  tanks  or  ponds.  The  people  of  India  are  adepts 
at  irrigation.  The  plow  is  little  better  than  a  sharpened  stick,  and  both 
plowmen  and  cattle  go  halfway  to  their  knees  in  mud  as  they  do  their  work. 
The  little  rice  plants  are  put  down  one  by  one  into  the  soft  mud,  women  and 
girls  doing  the  work.  Water  must  be  kept  three  or  four  inches  deep  on  these 
ricefields  until  the  grain  is  ready  for  reaping.  It  is  reaped  by  hand,  bound  into 
bundles  and  carried  upon  the  heads  of  women  to  the  threshing-place,  and  trod- 
den out  by  cattle  in  much  the  same  way  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Abraham. 

The  city  of  Madura  is  a  centre  also  of  the  weaving  trade,  both  of  cotton  and 
silk.  The  implements  are  very  rude,  but  the  product  is  very  beautiful.  At  every 
step  you  meet  Brahman  and  other  high-caste  women  wearing  very  gracefully  the 
richly  colored  silken  cloths  for  which  the  city  is  famous.  Just  yonder  the 
weaver  is  driving  down  his  stakes  and  putting  together  some  of  his  weaving 
arrangements  by  the  roadside ;  he  is  preparing  the  warp,  the  loom  is  inside  his 
house.  He  can  produce  delicate  fabrics,  and  dye  them  in  lasting  colors,  extracted 
from  roots  and  herbs. 

The  next  thing  that  greets  the  eye  will  be  the  flower  merchants  sitting  cross- 
legged  in  their  little  stalls,  with  piles  of  fragrant  cape  jessamine,  pink  oleanders, 
yellow  and  white  chrysanthemums  exposed  for  sale  before  them.  While 
you  wait  they  will  deftly  tie  a  wreath  for  you,  using  the  slender  filaments  of  dried 
banana  plant  instead  of  wire.  The  Hindu  is  always  and  everywhere  a  lover  of 
color  in  art  and  in  nature.  They  never  dress  in  sombre  garb.  The  poor  coolie 
who  can  neither  read  nor  write,  and  whose  wages  is  five  or  seven  cents  a  day,  is 
often  seen  with  flowers  in  his  hair,  he  having  no  buttonhole  to  wear  them  in. 

Next  beyond  the  flower  bazaar  are  piles  of  cocoanuts  on  the  ground,  and 
country  carts  unloading  their  burden  of  rich,  yellow  bananas.  The  onion  and 
garlic  merchant  is  near  by,  while  cardamons  and  annis,  coriander  and  ginger, 
and  all  the  spicy  odors  of  "  Araby  the  blest "  fill  the  place.  Very  likely  you 
may  purchase  some  flowers  and  some  bananas,  but  the  other  good  things  you  will 
leave  for  the  cook  or  butler,  while  you  stop,  for  a  moment,  at  the  goldsmith's,  a 
step  or  two  beyond.  The  Hindu  jewelers  are  very  numerous,  very  clever,  and 
very  cunning ;  every  town  and  village  boasts  a  number  of  them.  They  can 
really  do  very  beautiful  work  in  silver  and  gold,  but  they  do  not  understand  how 
to  cut  or  set  precious  stones  to  the  best  advantage.     Every  Hindu  woman  is 


136 


In  and  About  Madura. 


exceedingly  fond  of  jewels  and  bestows  them  in  every  available  place  upon  her 
person,  from  her  toes  to  the  tips  of  her  ears.  Nor  is  her  dress  complete  without 
them.     She  avails  herself  of  pearls  from  the  deep  seas  off  Ceylon  and  rubies 


VILLAGE     LIFE     IN     INDIA. 


from  the  mines  of  Burma;  and   18-carat  gold  has  to  be  refined  for  her  neck- 
laces. 

But,  hark  to  that  loud  music  coming  round  the  next  corner  ;  it  means  a  morn- 
ing procession  from  the  temple  on  its  way  to  obtain  the  sacred  water  with  which 


/;/  cunt  About  Madura. 


137 


the  goddess  is  to  be  bathed.  The  most  important  part  of  the  procession  is  the 
big  temple  elephant ;  perhaps  there  arc  two  or  three  of  them.  The  keeper,  with 
his  sharp  iron  goad,  sits  upon  the  back  of  each,  while  the  sweet-toned  hell,  sus- 
pended by  brass  chains  from  the  elephant's  neck,  keeps  time  with  his  majestic 
gait.  The  Hindus  have  a  proverb  that  "the  walk  of  a  graceful  woman  should 
resemble  that  of  an  elephant."  Nor  is  this  without  reason,  for  there  is  a  definite 
majesty  and  grace  to  the  motion  of  these  stately  animals. 

But  enough  of  what  has  been  in  Madura.     Let  us  turn  to  that  which  is  and 
is  to  be.     For  the  last  and  best  scene,  come  with  me  to  the  "  Western  gate  "  of 

the  old  city  ;  behind  you  are  towers 
and  minarets  of  Hindu  temple  and 
Mohammedan  mosque  ;  before  you, 
in  the  distance,  groves  of  palms  and 
low  red  hills  almost  bare  of  verdure. 
You  are  passing  along  a  genuine 
Oriental  street  filled  with  strange 
sights  —  native  carts  covered  with 
bamboo  matting,  drawn  by  two  oxen 
or  sometimes  by  one ;  coolies  with 
baskets  of  bananas  on  their  heads  ; 
women  carrying  earthen  jars  of  water 
or  sour  milk  in  like  manner ;  now 
and  then  a  donkey  with  somebody's 
washing  on  his  back ;  hundreds  of 
travelers  with  sandal  and  staff  and 
drinking-vessel  of  brass ;  and,  what 
is  to  us  the  most  interesting,  num- 
bers of  young  men  and  boys  on 
their  way,  if  it  be  schooltime,  to 
Pasumalai  College  alluded  to  above. 
And  a  word  or  two  about  these  schoolboys  ;  they  are  not  unattractive  looking 
fellows ;  their  eyes  are  bright,  their  faces  indicate  intelligence,  their  hair  is  very 
black,  and  carefully  braided  under  their  turbans  or  flying  loose  in  the  wind  from 
their  morning  bath ;  their  clothing  is  white  cotton  cloth,  clean  or  otherwise,  as 
the  family  purse  or  custom  dictates.  Very  likely  they  can  do  a  hard  example  in 
mental  arithmetic  quicker  than  you  can,  and  as  for  feats  of  memory,  they  '11  beat 
you  every  time.  They  do  not  reason  just  as  you  do,  but  the  chances  are  that 
they  are  more  polite  to  their  parents.  These  schoolboys,  representing  Young 
India,  just  as  you  do  Young  America,  are  carrying  the  latest  textbooks  open  in 
their  hands.  As  they  hurry  on,  they  recite  passages  from  Locksley  Hall,  or 
verify  the  references  in  Paradise  Lost.  The  shrines  by  the  roadside  are 
unheeded,  as  they  walk  swiftly  on  to  join  the  350  boys  who  are  gathered  in  the 
college  church  for  morning  worship  —  the  hymn,  the  Scripture  lesson,  the  earnest 
prayer,  all  in  their  own  tongue.  In  more  senses  than  one  they  have  left  the 
great  city  of  Madura,  with  its  ancient  religion,  behind  them,  as  they  come  to 
school  this  morning,  and  are  coming  into  that  which  Madura  with  all  its  temples 
can  never  give  them  —  the  light. 


HINDU    SILVERSMITH. 


HINDU  CASTE. 


BY    REV.    S.    B.    FAIRBANK,    D.D.,    AHMEDNAGAR,    INDIA. 


Caste  is  a  Hindu  institution.  It  is  a  social  system,  but  it  also  affects  religious 
standing.  It  classes  men  as  high  or  low,  pure  or  impure,  without  reference  to 
their  character  or  their  attainments.  A  man  is  born  into  the  caste  of  his  parents, 
and  though  he  become  very  rich  or  learned,  though  he  become  a  king  or  a  saint, 
he  cannot  enter  a  caste  higher  than  that  to  which  he  belongs  by  birth.  He  may 
lose  his  caste  by  breaking  its  rules.  Yet  in  that  case  he  does  not  enter  a  lower 
caste,  but  becomes  an  outcast.  If  he  obeys  the  rules  of  his  caste,  no  immoral- 
ity or  incompetency  or  crime  will  turn  him  out  of  it. 

There  are  social  distinctions  in  every  country.  They  are  marked  in  countries 
like  Great  Britain,  where  there  is  a  hereditary  nobility,  and  the  land  is  mostly 
held  by  the  aristocracy ;  and  they  are  still  more  marked  in  countries  like  Russia. 
In  New  England  there  is  political  equality,  and  social  standing  is  not  largely 
hereditary.  Yet  social  strata  have  been  formed,  and  they  are  becoming  more 
defined  and  fixed  continually.  Wealth,  culture,  occupation,  and  parentage  make 
classes  anywhere.  And  these  come  to  be  regarded  as  high  or  low,  and  respecta- 
ble or  common,  or  degraded.  But  all  these  distinctions  are  tentative.  Merit, 
success,  or  marriage  may  carry  one  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  grade,  and  vice 
or  incompetency  may  degrade.  So  these  social  distinctions  in  Christian  lands 
do  not  correspond  to  those  made  by  caste  in  India. 

The  race  distinctions  between  the  white  and  the  negro,  and  between  Ameri- 
cans and  Chinamen,  are  more  like  caste  distinctions.  The  white  not  only  thinks 
the  black  his  inferior,  but  also  feels  a  repugnance  to  him.  Even  a  trace  of  negro 
blood  is  offensive  enough  to  prevent  marriage.  But  eating  or  drinking  with  a 
negro  does  not  pollute  or  degrade  a  white  man.  So  the  resemblances  between 
race  distinctions  and  caste  distinctions  are  only  partial. 

It  is  likely  that  some  castes  originated  from  race  distinctions.  India  was 
peopled  by  successive  immigrations.  The  tribes  that  live  on  the  hills  —  as  the 
Gonds  and  Khonds,  the  Kols,  the  Todas,  the  Katodis,  and  the  Warolis — must 
be  aboriginal,  and  may  have  been  driven  from  the  plains  by  the  Tanners  and 
Thieves  and  Scavengers,  the  Mahars  and  Mangs  and  Farias,  who  now  live  near 
the  gates  of  the  villages  and  cities.  These  again  became  subject  to  the  Cultiva- 
tors and  artisans,  and  are  not  allowed  to  live  inside  the  village  limits,  even  where 
the  village  walls  have  disappeared.  They  are  outcasts,  and  are  under  the  con- 
trol of,  and  subject  to,  the  caste  people  who  live  inside  the  walls.  Lastly  the 
Brahmans  came,  and  by  diplomacy  and  priestcraft  gained  their  ascendency  over 


138 


Hindu  Caste. 


"39 


all.    Their  supremacy  was  political,  social,  and  religious.    They  retained  polit- 
ical control  till  the  Musalmans  came.    And  after  the  Musalmans,  the  English 

came  and  subjugated  and  reigned  over  large  parts  of  the   country,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  Nepal  and  Bhutan,  have  controlled  the  rest  by  their  "  residents." 
Many  of  the  native  princes  were  and  are  of  castes  with  whom   a  Brahman 


•?%%%0pz% 


HINDU  CARPENTERS   AT  WORK. 


must  not  eat.  But  as  premiers,  secretaries,  judges,  etc.,  Brahmans  have  usually 
had  the  control  in  native  principalities,  both  in  civil  and  judicial  matters.  Such 
Brahmans  live  in  close  social  relations  with  a  prince,  although  they  would  be 
defiled  by  drinking  water  from  a  cup  which  he  has  touched. 

Their  business  has  originated  many  castes.     Goldsmiths,  blacksmiths,  carpen- 


140  Hindu  Caste. 

ters,  weavers,  etc.,  each  form  a  caste,  or  rather  a  group  of  castes.  Mahars  are 
outcasts,  but  are  divided  into  grades  of  which  they  say  there  are  twelve.  That 
portion  of  them  which  makes  weaving  its  profession  is  one  of  the  lower  grades, 
for  there  is  something  used  by  them  in  their  work  which  the  others  say  is  pollut- 
ing. Shoemakers  are  vile  because  they  cut  and  sew  leather.  And  tanners  are 
still  lower  because  they  handle  and  scrape  rawhides. 

The  use  of  certain  things  for  food  also  makes  caste  distinction.  There  are 
castes  nearly  as  high  as  Brahmans,  but  lower  because  they  eat  fish.  Mahars,  if 
for  nothing  else,  would  be  outcasts  because  they  eat  the  flesh  of  the  sacred 
cow.  Europeans  say  that  they  eat  carrion,  and  some  of  them  do  eat  beef  when 
it  is  "  high."  But  they  claim  that  an  ox  which  "  God  has  killed  "  (by  disease, 
etc.)  is  just  as  fit  for  food  as  if  man  had  killed  it.  Especially  cattle  that  have 
died  from  poison  are  thought  to  be  good  for  food.  They  say  that  blood  flows 
when  they  cut  up  a  dead  ox.  Yet  they  keep  the  blood  for  food ;  just  as  some 
Europeans  disregard  the  Mosaic  law  and  use  blood  for  puddings.  Mangs  eat 
pork,  which  the  Mahars  refuse  and  abhor,  like  the  Jews.  The  Cultivators  eat 
mutton  and  kid  ;  only  the  animal  must  be  sacrificed,  or  else  killed  by  a  Musal- 
man,  who  says  "  Bismilla,"  as  he  cuts  its  throat. 

For  whatever  reasons  a  caste  originated,  it  has  become  permanent  by  custom. 
Custom  is  the  higher  law  in  India,  and  no  stronger  argument  for  an  observance  is 
required  than  that  it  has  been  observed  for  a  long  time. 

Every  Hindu  must  obey  the  rules  and  imitate  the  customs  of  his  caste.  If  he 
does  this  he  is  a  good  Hindu.  If  he  does  not,  he  is  liable  to  incur  expenses  for 
purification  and  restoration  to  his  caste  privileges  and  his  business.  He  has  a 
right  to  them  only  because  he  is  in  good  caste  standing.  For  disregarding  the 
caste  ritual  he  may  be  turned  out  entirely  and  permanently.  One  specially 
important  rule  is  that  he  must  not  eat  food  which  has  been  cooked  or  touched  by 
a  person  whom  his  caste  regards  as  of  low  caste.  Nor  must  he  drink  water  that 
has  been  touched  by  such  a  person.  If  he  do  so,  his  caste  people  esteem  him 
polluted,  and  will  not  eat  with  him  or  drink  from  a  vessel  that  he  has  touched 
until  he  has  been  purified  and  restored  to  caste  privileges.  The  purification  is 
often  obtained  at  great  cost.  And  in  any  case  the  one  restored  must  provide 
a  big  dinner,  of  which  his  caste  fellows  will  partake  to  show  that  he  has  been 
restored. 

There  are  some  articles,  such  as  parched  rice  or  uncooked  peanuts,  which  are 
not  regarded  as  food.  They  may  be  bought  of  anybody  and  eaten  without 
defilement.  They  are  called  kadann.  Articles  regarded  as  food  are  called  aim. 
Kadann  is  eaten  on  fast-days,  and  may  be  eaten  without  limit  on  a  day  of  the 
strictest  fast.  But  if  kadann  is  wet  when  received  from  a  person  of  low  caste,  it 
defiles.  When  Shivaram,  the  first  Mang  who  was  received  to  the  Chande 
church,  came  to  partake  of  the  communion  for  the  first  time,  the  relatives  of 
the  Christians  who  were  to  partake  of  the  bread  and  wine  with  him  assembled 
and  sat  in  the  chapel  to  see  what  their  Christian  relatives  would  do.  When  the 
bread  was  distributed  they  made  no  sign.  But  the  deacon  handed  the  cup  first 
to  Shivaram  and  then  to  one  who  was  a  Mahar  of  Chande,  their  own  village. 
As  soon  as  he  tasted  it,  the  Mahars  rose,  as  if  frightened,  and  rushed  away. 


Himin  C  aste.  '4' 


But  they  care  more  about  the  letter  of  the  rules  than  about   theit  spirit.     To 
avoid  giving  the  sick  unnecessary  trouble,  I  usually  gave  medicine  in  powd 
in  pills.     But!  found  that  when  it  was  nei  to  give  a  liquid  medii 

would  not  defile  the  patient  if  I  poured  it  from  a  b  »ttle  :      Should  I  pour  it  from 


A    MARATHI    BRAHMAN, 


a  cup,  it  would  defile.  But  caste  rules  allow  them  to  take  medicine  that  is 
poured  from  a  bottle.  The  upshot  of  it  is,  that  caste  requires  them  to  preserve 
ritualistic  purity.     It  takes  care  of  the  shell  but  disregards  the  nut  within. 

Some  immoralities  are  not  thought  to  defile.     A  Brahman  widow  was  the  kept 


142 


Hindu  Caste. 


mistress  of  a  ParsI  judge.     Her  relations    to   him  were   generally  known.     But 
she  was  not  called  to  account  and  remained  in  good  standing  with  her  caste. 

Had  she  been  known  to  have 
eaten  with  him,  or  to  have  drank 
water  which  he  had  touched,  her 
caste  would  have  called  her  to 
account. 

The  Hindus  tell  a  story  of  ten 
Brahmans  who  were  traveling  in 
the  heat.  They  came  to  a  well 
and  must  have  water  to  quench 
their  thirst.  But  they  had  not 
even  a  cup  or  a  string  to  draw 
water  with.  So  they  took  a  shoe 
for  the  bucket,  and  undoing  a 
turban  used  it  for  the  rope. 
Nine  of  them  drank  water  that 
was  drawn  in  the  shoe.  The 
tenth  would  not  drink  and  thus 
defile  himself.  When  they  came 
to  a  village  he  complained  of 
their  defiling  themselves.  But 
they  joined  in  testifying  that  he 
So  they  remained  in  good  stand- 


HINDU    WOMEN    WITH    WATER-JARS. 


drank  from  the  shoe  and  that  they  would  not. 
ing,  and  he  was  turned  out. 

There  is  usually  something  in  his  dress  that  shows  the  nationality  of  each  per- 
son you  meet  in  India.  It  is  so  even  in  Babel-like  Bombay.  Especially  the 
covering  for  the  head  is  distinctive.  The  Hindus  all  wear  turbans  of  some  kind, 
and  they  are  bound  in  such  styles  as  to  indicate  the  caste  to  which  the  wearer 
belongs.  The  turban  of  the  Marathi  Brahman,  on  page  141,  is  distinctive. 
None  but  a  Brahman  would  bind  his  turban  in  just  this  way.  So  the  cloth  which 
covers  his  neck  behind  and  hangs  down  in  front  is  put  on  as  a  Brahman  wears  it. 
But  the  sleeves  of  his  coat  are  made  differently  from  the  ancestral  fashion.  It 
should  appear  by  wrinkles  on  the  wrist  that  they  are  long  enough,  if  drawn  out, 
to  cover  his  hands,  so  that  he  may  take  hold  of  things  without  touching  them 
with  his  naked  hands. 

In  the  picture  of  Hindu  carpenters,  on  page  139,  one  of  them  is  character- 
istically figured  as  holding  a  piece  of  wood  with  his  toes  while  he  splits  it.  His 
turban  is  bound  properly  for  a  carpenter.  But  when  at  work  a  carpenter  would 
usually  have  no  clothing  on  his  body  above  his  hips,  although  he  would  be  wear- 
ing his  turban.     The  man  standing  is  dressed  in  this  way. 

The  everyday  dress  of  Hindu  women  is  less  distinctive.  The  outer  dress  is  a 
single  cloth  several  yards  long  and  rather  more  than  a  yard  wide.  This 
is  put  on  deftly,  so  as  to  cover  not  only  the  body  but  also  the  head.  It  is 
properly  shown  in  the  picture  of  two  Hindu  women  with  their  water-jars.  In 
the  Marathi  country  women  usually  wear  jackets  with  sleeves  that  come  to  their 
elbows,  as  shown  in  the  picture,  and  they  always  wear  bangles  on  their  wrists. 
These  are  made  of  glass,  or  shell-lac,  or  silver,  or  perhaps  gold. 


^^U=ufSa«fa»rp«r=^^^|.^=m^igff=^f^nt=^..^n?^YFm^^lTiTi1 


GANESH,  THE   HINDU    LORD   OF    HOSTS. 


BY    REV.    ROBERT    A.    HUME,    AHMKDN'AGAR,    INDIA. 


The  pictures  here  given  are  representations  of  the  Hindu  god  Ganesh,  or 
Gdnpati.  In  some  parts  of  India  he  is  called  Puliar,  as  shown  in  the  last  picture. 
He  is  always  represented  as  having  an  elephant's  head  and  a  very  fat  body,  and 
sometimes  as  having  many  hands.  He  sometimes  has  four,  and  sometimes  eight, 
female  attendants,  some  of  whom  have  peacock  feathers  to  drive  off  flies ;  others 
offer  him  various  gifts,  and  all  wish  to 
serve  him.  The  umbrella  over  his  head 
is  to  shield  him  from  the  sun  and  rain. 

Many  stories  are  told  of  the  way  in 
which  he  came  to  have  an  elephant's 
head.  One  of  them  is  as  follows  :  One 
day  his  mother,  Parvati,  went  into  her 
private  room,  and  placing  her  son  Ga- 
nesh at  the  door,  told  him  to  allow  no 
one  to  come  in.  Soon  her  husband,  who 
has  many  names,  such  as  Shiva,  Mahadev, 
and  Shankar,  came  and  was  about  to  en- 
ter her  room.  Ganesh  told  his  father 
that  his  mother  had  forbidden  any  one 
to  enter.  Because  the  boy  opposed  him, 
Shiva  got  angry  and  cut  off  his  son's 
head.  When  Parvati  came  to  know  it, 
she  was  wild  with  grief.  So  to  console  her  Shiva  said  :  "  Do  not  cry  ;  I  will  give 
him  the  head  of  the  next  living  being  that  comes  along."  This  happened  to  be 
an  elephant.  So  the  great  god  Shiva  cut  off  the  head  of  the  elephant,  put  it  on 
his  son's  body  and  restored  him  to  life.  Then  he  said  to  Parvati  :  "  Now.  what  a 
fine  son  you  have.  The  elephant  is  wisest  of  animals,  and  your  son  shall  be  the 
god  of  wisdom."  Ever  since  then  Ganesh  has  been  worshiped  as  the  god  of 
wisdom.  In  every  Hindu  school  there  is  an  image  of  this  god,  whom  the  school- 
children worship  daily.  At  the  top  of  every  sheet  of  the  alphabet,  and  at  the 
head  of  every  copy  which  the  school -children  write,  are  the  words:  ••  Shri 
Ganesh,"  that  is,  "The  blessed  Ganesh." 

The  meaning  of  the  name  Ganesh  is  "The  Lord  of  Hosts."      This  is  one  oi 
the  most  impressive  names  of  God  given  in  the  Bible.     How  different  the  Chris- 

'43 


GANESH. 


144 


Gajiesh,  the  Hindu  Lord  of  Hosts. 


tian  and  the  Hindu  Lord  of  Hosts  !  One  naturally  asks  how  so  intelligent  a 
people  as  the  Hindus  could  ever  have  accepted  such  a  belief  as  the  above.  They 
are  not  now  as  intelligent  or  as  pure  as  they  once  were,  and  even  now  they  could 


GANESH,    WITH     HIS    EIGHT    ATTENDANTS. 

not  be  induced  to  believe  a  new  story  so  foolish  as  this.  Hence  the  origin  of 
this  belief  must  be  better  than  what  the  story  just  told  would  represent  it.  And 
in  their  old  books  we  can  find  its  origin  as  follows  :  — 

The  word  "  to  know  "  in  the  old  language  of  the  country,  that  is,  the  Sanskrit, 
is  written  with  one  letter,  namely:  U    (pronounced  dnya).     In  old  times  the 


Ganeshy  the  Hindu  Lord  of  Hosts.  M5 

religious  teachers  of  many  religions  were  fond  of  speaking  in  poetical  or  figura- 
tive language.  Thereforej  long,  long  ago,  when  some  of  the  early  Hindu  reli- 
gious teachers  were  speaking  of  the  name  of  God,  they  said  :  "His  name  is  ${. 
because  he  has  all  knowledge."  Now  this  letter  has  a  twist  in  it  something  like 
the  twist  of  an  elephant's  trunk.  So  the  next  step  with  these  poetical  t.achers 
was  to  say:  "The  name  of  the  god  of  wisdom  is  the  letter  which  looks  like 
the  elephant's  trunk."  Then  they  said  :  "  His  beginning  is  like  the  beginning 
of  the  elephant."  Then  they  took  a  step  further  and  said:  "His  head 
(that  is,  his  beginning)  is  like  the  elephant's."  So  they  went  on,  till  after  many 
years,  as  the  people  turned  further  and  further  from  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  they  forgot  the  way  in  which  this  idea  originated,  ami  came  to  believe  that 
the  god  of  wisdom  really  had  an  elephant's  head. 

In  the  same  way  at  first  the  representation  that  the  god  of  wisdom  had  four 
female  attendants  probably  meant  that  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  that  is, 
the  whole  world,  waited  on  him.  When  the  number  was  increased  to  eight, 
probably  it  was  an  effort  to  indicate  more  fully  that  all  creation  waited  on  the  god, 
by  personifying  the  four  cardinal  points  and  the  four  intermediate  points  of  the 
compass,  and  representing  them  as  serving  him.  Nowadays,  in  some  philosophical 
books,  it  is  said  that  these  eight  attendants  signify  earth,  water,  fire,  air,  sky, 
mind,  intellect,  and  consciousness.  But  the  ordinary  Hindu  would  probably 
think  of  his  Lord  of  Hosts  as  attended  by  dancing-girls.  Look  at  the  figure  of 
Ganesh  and  notice  the  type  of  holiness  indicated  by  the  faces  of  his  attendants, 
and  then  one  can  see  how  low  is  the  Hindu  "  Lord  of  Hosts." 

This  is  one  illustration  of  what  is  said  in  the  first  chapter  of  Romans  from  the 
twenty-first  to  the  twenty-fifth  verses.  "  Because  that,  when  they  knew  God, 
they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful ;  but  became  vain  in  their 
imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened.  Professing  themselves  to  be 
wise,  they  became  fools,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  uncorruptible  God  into  an 
image  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and 
creeping  things.  Wherefore  God  also  gave  them  up  to  uncleanness,  through  the 
lusts  of  their  own  hearts,  to  dishonour  their  own  bodies  between  themselves  : 
who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie."  When  any  one  does  not  honor  and 
obey  God,  he  loses  even  the  right  idea  of  God. 

The  Christian  teaching  of  missionaries,  an  education  into  the  English  language 
and  literature,  which  thousands  of  young  people  are  getting,  and  all  the  influence 
which  comes  from  contact  with  such  ideas  as  are  common  in  Europe  and 
America,  are  leading  large  numbers  of  Hindus  to  see  that  their  old  ideas  about 
Ganesh  are  low  and  wrong,  and  that  the  true  Lord  of  Hosts  must  be  a  very 
different  being  from  their  ordinary  conception  of  him. 

Some  see  and  believe  that  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  show  men  what  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  is,  and  they  now  trust  in  him.  Some  who  have  given  up  the 
modern  Ganesh,  yet  have  not  fairly  understood  who  Christ  is,  and  what  he  can 
do.  Others  have  something  of  this  knowledge,  but  they  do  not  feel  drawn 
toward  him.  They  think  it  a  shame  to  accept  the  ideas  of  any  foreigners  about 
God.  So  some  of  them  are  hoping  to  get  up  a  purified  Hinduism  by  going 
back  to  such  old  explanations  of  their  religion  as  have  been  given  above.  But, 
just  as  their  forefathers  fell  lower  and  lower  by  not  glorifying  and  serving  th< 


146 


Ganesh,  the  Hindu  Lord  of  Hosts. 


whom  they  knew,  so  these  people  will  only  go  further  from  God  by  this  course. 
Meanwhile  the  true  Lord  of  Hosts,  that  is,  he  who  showed  himself  to  man  m 


THE    GOD    PULIAR,  OR    GANESH. 

Jesus  Christ,  is  waiting  and  longing  to  have  the  Hindus  know  and  love  him,  and 
wishes  the  aid  of  all  his  children  to  hasten  that  day. 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  IN   INDIA. 

BY    REV.    IF.   J.    BRUCE,   OF   SATARA,    MARATHI    MISSION. 


Among  the  many  departments  of  our  mission  work,  no  one  is  more  interesting 
or,  we  think,  productive  of  more  direct  and  pleasing  result?  than  that  of  our 
common,  or  village,  schools.  There  are  more  than  a  hundred  of  these  schools 
situated  in  separate  villages,  or  in  small  native  communities,  which  become 
centres  of  gospel  light  in  the  thick  darkness  of  surrounding  heathenism.  The 
brightness  of  these  lights  varies  greatly  according  to  circumstances  ;  and  I  want 
to  tell  ycu  of  some  of  the  difficulties  which  we  experience  in  connection  with 
them.     The  desire  for  an  education  is  certainly  increasing  among  the  people,  but 


A   VILLAGE   SCHOOL    IN    A   CHOWDI. 

it  often  happens  thit,  when  in  response  to  urgent  requests  we  attempt  to  estab- 
lish a  school  in  a  village,  there  are  not  energy  and  decision  of  character  enough 
among  the  people  who  wanted  the  school  to  overcome  the  difficulties  in  their 
way,  and  especially  the  opposition  of  some  of  their  own  number,  and  so  they 
leave  everything  for  the  missionary  to  do. 

One  of  the  first  things  to  be  considered,  in  starting  a  new  school,  is  whether 
there  are  any  suitable  and  available  places  in  the  village  for  the  teacher  to  live  in 
and  for  the  school  to  meet  in.  I  once  commenced  a  school  in  a  village  where 
the  teacher  lived  for  several  months  in  a  little  hut  which  he  built  with  his  own 
hands  out  of  cornstalks.     He  gathered  the  children  together  under  a  large  tree, 


148  Village  Schools  in  India. 

where  they  were  taught  their  letters  and  some  of  the  first  truths  of  the  gospel. 
The  teacher  was  afterward  fond  of  reminding  me  that  once  when  I  was  visiting 
the  school  there  came  a  sudden  gust  of  wind  and  carried  off  one  of  the  little 
books  so  far  that  it  could  never  be  found  again. 

Many  of  the  villages  have  public  "  rest-houses,"  which  are  called  chowdis, 
where  travelers  may  stop  for  the  day  or  the  night.  They  are  generally  bare 
rooms  or  sheds,  open  on  one  side,  without  any  furniture  whatever,  unless  it  be  a 
grim  idol  bedaubed  with  red  paint,  which  often  occupies  a  central  and  prominent 
position.  The  traveler  brings  his  own  provisions  and  cooking-vessels ;  and 
building  a  fire  on  the  earthen  floor  he  cooks  his  food,  and  sleeps  upon  the  floor. 
This  is  the  nearest  approach  to  "  hotel  accommodations  "  which  one  can  find  in 
this  part  of  India,  outside  of  the  large  cities.  But  it  does  very  well  for  the 
natives  with  their  simple  habits  of  life.  The  picture  on  the  preceding  page  is  of 
a  common  village  chowdi.  It  has  thick  walls  of  either  stone  or  mud,  and  the  roof 
is  simply  a  hard  kind  of  earth  which  rests  on  a  framework  of  timbeis.  You  will 
observe  that  there  axe  five  openings  between  the  posts  in  front.  There  may  be 
three  or  seven,  but  never  an  even  number.  This  is  owing  to  a  native  supersti- 
tion ;  and  you  will  find  this  idea  in  almost  all  the  architecture  of  India,  whether 
Hindu  or  Mussulman.  The  same  superstitious  fear  of  the  even  number  is  ssen 
in  other  matters  as  well.  Some  years  ago  an  American  merchant  in  Bombay 
wished  to  get  one  of  his  ships  insured  for  50,000  rupees.  He  went  to  a  Hindu 
insurance  agent  for  that  purpose.  The  agent  did  not  like  the  look  of  that  round 
number,  but  he  was  willing  to  insure  the  vessel  for  51,000  at  the  same  rates.  In 
the  end  the  ship  was  lost,  and  the  agent  paid  the  extra  thousand  rupees  just  for 
his  superstition. 

It  often  happens  that  where  a  school  is  started  in  a  new  village  it  must  be 
held  in  the  village  chowdi,  as  that  is  the  only  available  place.  The  inconvenience 
of  such  a  place  may  be  seen,  with  the  help  of  a  little  imagination,  in  the  illus- 
tration. As  the  building  does  not  belong  to  us,  it  is  not  under  our  control.  It  is 
subject  to  perpetual  intrusions  from  those  who  have  a  "  hereditary"  and  "  inal- 
ienable" right  to  its  occupation.  Every  traveler  may  find  his  way  here,  and  he 
spreads  out  his  traps  upon  the  floor  and  cooks  his  meal  without  let  or  hindrance. 
Groups  of  men  may  be  seated  here  and  there  talking  loudly  and  angrily,  or  per- 
haps smoking  or  playing  cards,  while  the  school-children  are  crowded  into  one 
corner,  trying  in  vain  to  get  their  lessons.  The  buffalo  cow  and  her  calf,  which  are 
now  seen  standing  quietly  outside,  may  sometimes  be  found  inside  the  building, 
and  living  creatures  in  the  shape  of  vermin  of  various  sorts  usually  abound  in 
such  places.  It  is  a  very  difficult  thing  to  transform  such  a  place  into  a  "  temple 
of  learning."  Proper  order  is  impossible,  and  it  is  a  very  happy  thing  for  the 
school  and  for  the  village  when  the  missionary  is  able  to  erect  a  plain,  neat 
building,  which  he  may  call  his  own,  and  which  may  be  used  as  a  schoolhouse 
during  the  week  and  as  a  chapel  on  the  Sabbath.  Sometimes  a  teacher's  house 
is  added  to  it,  and  the  whole  establishment  becomes  a  civilizing  as  well  as  a 
Christianizing  agency  in  the  village  where  it  is  located. 

We  still  have  many  schools  in  chowdis  which  ought  to  be  provided  with  better 
accommodations,  and  in  many  places  the  people  are  asking  for  schools  where 
there  is  not  even  a  decent  chowdi   in  which   to  gather   a   school.     There  is  a 


Village  Schools  in  India. 


140 


chance  for  indefinite  enlargement  of  our  work  in  this  direction,  and  few  lines  of 
work  promise  richer  results  than  that  of  our  village  schools.  They  have  been  the 
starting-point  from  which  not  a  few  of  our  village  churches  have  grown,  and 


some  of   our  best  native  Christian  workers  received  their  first   impressions    of 
Christian  truth  in  these  same  village  schools. 

These  village  schools  are  the  feeders  of  our  higher  schools.  When  a  boy  has 
attended  faithfully  for  several  years,  and  has  reached  a  certain  standard  in  his 
studies,  if  his  character  is  such  as  to  make  it  seem  advisable,  he  is  taken  into  the 


150  Village  Schools  in  India. 

station  school  for  a  year  or  two,  and  may  eventually  go  on  to  the  Christian  Ver- 
nacular Education  Society's  Normal  School  at  Ahmednagar,  or  to  the  mission 
high  school,  or  even  to  the  Theological  Seminary,  to  be  fitted  for  work  as  a 
preacher  or  teacher.  Our  whole  educational  system,  therefore,  depends  largely 
upon  the  success  of  these  little  common  schools  scattered  about  among  the 
villages. 

Should  any  of  you  wish  to  visit  one  of  these  little  schools,  I  think  you  would 
be  surprised  to  see  how  different  they  are  from  your  fine  schools  at  home.  You 
would  not  expect  to  find  the  pupils  sitting  in  easychairs,  with  desks  and  other 
furniture  in  Chicago's  latest  style.  Possibly  in  some  places  you  might  find  a  tall 
hard  bench  on  which  some  of  the  boys  are  sitting,  but  more  likely  you  would 
see  them  sitting  on  the  earthen  floor,  with  legs  crossed,  and  their  books  on  the 
floor  in  front  of  them.  Neither  would  you  find  the  order  equal  to  that  of  your 
best  schools  at  home ;  and  yet  we  do  think  that  our  schools  are  an  improvement 
on  the  native  private  schools,  or  even  those  which  are  supported  by  government. 

In  the  private  schools  and  sometimes  in  the  government  schools  the  scholars 
study  aloud,  making  great  noise  and  confusion.  At  a  certain  hour  of  the  day 
they  all  join  in  singing  the  multiplication  table.  They  learn  this  not  to  twelve 
times  twelve,  as  you  do,  but  to  ten  times  thirty,  and  sometimes  to  thirty  times 
thirty.  Two  boys  are  appointed  as  leaders,  and  they  shout  out  two  numbers  at 
a  time,  as  "  18  times  23  are  414;  18  times  24  are  432."  The  whole  school 
will  repeat  the  same  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  and  so  on.  What  a  racket  they 
make  !  When  you  go  into  a  village  at  the  time  of  this  recitation  you  would  not 
need  to  inquire  where  the  school  is,  for  you  can  hear  it  at  a  great  distance. 

In  contrast  with  our  own  village  schools,  most  of  which  are  among  the  lower 
castes,  I  am  sending  you  a  picture  of  a  government  high-caste  girls'  school  in 
Bhingar,  near  Ahmednagar.  The  girls  seem  to  be  dressed  in  holiday  attire  ; 
and  how  bright  they  look  !  The  little  ones  are  sitting  cross-legged  on  the  floor, 
according  to  the  custom  of  their  country.  Do  you  see  the  little  black  spot  on 
the  forehead  of  each  one  ?  That  indicates  the  caste  of  the  girl,  and  here  they 
seem  to  be  all  Brahmans.  The  head-master,  who  is  the  one  sitting,  has  a  differ- 
ent mark  upon  his  forehead.  Running  crosswise  like  this  it  shows  that  he  is  a 
worshiper  of  Shiva.  If  it  were  perpendicular,  it  would  show  him  to  be  a  wor- 
shiper of  Vishnu.  But  what  a  profusion  of  ornaments  the  girls  have  on  !  There 
are  ornaments  on  the  hair,  rings  in  the  ears,  a  ring  in  the  nose,  necklaces  in 
abundance,  armlets,  bracelets,  finger-rings,  toe-rings,  and  anklets.  Many  of  these 
necklaces  are  of  gold  and  pearls  and  are  costly.  There  is  a  certain  necklace, 
not  distinguishable  in  the  picture,  which  indicates  that  the  girl  is  married.  It  is 
placed  on  her  neck  by  her  husband  at  the  time  of  marriage,  and  must  never  be 
removed  until  she  becomes  a  widow. 

The  people  of  India  generally  do  not  think  much  of  their  daughters.  If  you 
ask  a  man  how  many  children  he  has,  he  will  give  you  the  number  of  his  sons, 
not  thinking  the  daughters  worth  counting.  But  when  you  look  at  these  bright- 
faced  girls  in  the  picture,  do  you  not  think  them  worth  saving  for  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ?  We  long  to  reach  them  with  the  gospel,  but  they  are  so  hedged  about 
that  it  is  difficult  to  do  so.  Will  you  not  pray  for  the  fifty  millions  of  children  in 
India,  that  they  may  be  brought  into  the  glorious  light  and  liberty  of  the  gospel? 


SACRED   MEN    IN    INDIA. 

BY    REV.    JOHN'    S.    CHANDLER,    OF   THE    MADURA    MISSION. 


There  are  many  Hindus  who  are  considered  sacred,  not  because  their  life  is 
without  spot  and  blameless,  but  because,  like  the  man  in  the  picture,  they  torture 
themselves  in  some  way,  or  do  some  laborious  service  for  their  gods.  Some- 
times they  are  very  sick,  or  have  some  other  great  distress,  and  then  the 
sufferer  will  put  a  little  silver  wristlet  on  to  one  arm,  or  handcuff  himself  with 
iron  cuffs,  or  chain  the  right  arm  to  the  neck,  and  make  a  vow  that  if  he  is 
relieved  out  of  his  distress  he  will  wear  that  a  certain  number  of  years  and  then 
go  to  the  temple  of  his  favorite  god 
and  perform  some  meritorious  act,  like 
rolling  around  the  temple  and  village, 
three  or  four  miles'  distance.  Some- 
times they  think  they  discover  a  way 
of  gaining  purity  and  becoming  gods, 
and  then  they  will  undertake  to  accom- 
plish some  great  work,  like  digging  a 
great  well  in  a  certain  place  and 
paving  the  sides  in  order  to  furnish 
pure  water  for  the  Brahman  priests.  In 
that  case,  they  will  do  as  this  man  in 
the  picture  has  done  —  have  a  rough 
frame  of  coarse  hoop-iron  made  and 
riveted  on  to  the  neck  so  that  it  cannot 
be  taken  off.  Of  course  it  makes  it 
very  painful  for  the  wearer  to  do  any- 
thing that  makes  it  rub  on  his  neck, 
and  when  he  tries  to  walk,  or  sleep,  or 
do  any  work,  he  suffers  much  more. 

The  next  picture  shows  one  of  the  most  painful  of  these  instruments  of 
torture  :  an  iron  cage.  It  was  worn  for  more  than  seven  years  by  a  man  who  at 
last  became  a  Christian  and  gave  it  to  be  sent  to  America  ;  and  now  it  can  be 
seen  any  day  in  the  Missionary  Museum  at  the  Hartford  Theological  Seminary. 
The  following  account  is  made  up  from  the  accounts  written  by  Rev.  J.  E. 
Chandler  and  Mrs.  Chandler,  of  the  Madura  Mission,  in  1866,  after  the  man's 
conversion  :  — 

His  name  was  Sokappan   (man  of  purity).     He  was  rich,  intelligent,  of  high 
caste,  the  head  of  his  village,  and  one  who  in  his  youth  had  been  the  disciple 


INDIAN    FAKIR. 


15- 


Sacred  Men  in  India. 


of  a  Brahman  priest,  and  had  been  set  apart  as  a  sacred  person  with  the  con- 
secrated beads  upon  his  head,  neck,  and  wrists. 

One  day  he  read  in  the  village  legends  that  under  the  east  gate  of  the 
village  temple,  deep  under  ground,  there  was  flowing  a  very  sacred  fountain 
which  brought  the  water  of  the  Ganges  a  thousand  miles,  and  was  efficacious 
for  washing  away  sin.  So  de  determined  he  would  win  merit  and  a  speedy 
entrance  to  heaven,  and  become  a  god,  by  digging  a  large  tank  seventy  feet 
square  and  fifteen  feet  deep,  and  opening  there  to  the  Brahmans  and  others  this 
fountain  for  sin  and  uncleanness.  Otherwise  he  supposed  that  his  admittance 
to  heaven  would  be  slow  and  like  that  of  other  men.  He  would  have  to  be  born 
as  one  animal  and  then  another  and  another  before  he  could  end  his  earthly  life. 
He  owned  a  cotton-farm  and  devoted  the  revenue  of  this  to  his  work. 
Giving  up  home  and  wife  and  friends,  he  lived  in  a  small  hut  near  the  Brahman 
street,  where  he  spent  his  time  bathing  and  performing  ceremonies,  and  eating 
only  one   meal   of   coarse  food  a  day,  such  as  the  Brahmans  sent  in  to  him. 

With  these  austerities  he  had  this  cage 
fastened  on  to  his  neck,  and  with  the 
yellow  cloth  of  an  ascetic  about  his 
loins  and  this  about  his  head  and 
sacred  ashes  on  his  body  he  made 
frequent  journeys  to  sacred  places. 
At  one  place  he  lay  down  in  the  road 
and,  rolling  over  and  over,  followed  the 
idol-car  in  its  circuit  around  a  great 
rock,  two  or  three  miles,  all  the  time 
with  the  cage  on  his  head.  This  was 
enough  to  make  him  a  god  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people  and  they  worshiped  him 
and  made  liberal  donations  to  his  work. 
On  one  occasion  he  heard  a  song 
written  by  an  ancient  sage  to  the  effect 
that  the  giver  and  not  the  receiver  of 
charity  was  blessed  by  the  gods.  So  he 
ceased  all  efforts  to  solicit  aid  and  resolved  to  complete  the  task  at  his  own 
expense  and  thus  obtain  all  the  merit. 

For  several  years  he  refused  to  converse  with  missionaries  or  native  Christians 
and  was  very  abusive  to  a  Christian  neighbor  when  the  latter  tried  to  talk  to  him. 
But  two  or  three  influences  effected  a  change  in  his  mind. 

First,  he  was  shocked  at  the  conduct  of  a  Brahman  priest  who,  when  he 
carried  an  offering  of  sugar-cane  juice  to  the  idol,  poured  only  a  little  on  the 
idol  and  drank  the  rest  himself,  saying  that  the  Brahmans  were  the  real  gods. 
This  led  Sokappan  to  abandon  his  ceremonies  and  lay  aside  the  yellow  cloth  and 
sacred  beads. 

Second,  he  was  interested  in  the  price  of  cotton  and  borrowed  of  his  Chris- 
tian neighbor  a  paper  that  quoted  such  prices,  for  it  was  near  the  close  of  the 
war  in  this  country  and  agents  were  traveling  through  South  India  to  buy  cotton. 
His  attention  was  attracted  by  a  reference  to  Jesus  in  one  of  the  columns  of  the 


THE    IRON    CAGE. 


Sacred  Men  in  India. 


153 


paper,  and  he  inquired,  "  Who  is  Jesus?"  This  led  to  a  willingness  to  read 
Christian  books  and  the  Bible  and  to  association  with  Christians.  Soon  after  he 
listened  to  one  of  the  missionaries,  Mr.  Tracy,  until  midnight,  as  he  talked  to 
him  about  the  atonement. 

In  1S65  he  became  a  Christian  and  publicly  preached  Christ  as  the  true  and 
only  Saviour.  But  he  never  allowed  anything  to  interfere  with  the  work  on  the 
tank.  Meantime  learned  Brahmans,  Mohammedans,  and  Roman  Catholics  tried 
every  way  to  win  this  "  god  of  the  iron  cage,"  as  they  called  him.  The  Brahman 
priests  were  going  to  celebrate  the  completion  of  the  tank  by  a  festival  in  his 
honor,  at  which  he  was  to  be  decorated  with  flowers  and  carried  about  in  a 
palanquin,  and  then  his  cage  was  to  be  removed  and  deposited  in  the  temple  as 
a  sacred  relic.  When  they  found  that  he  cared  not  for  all  this  they  used  threats 
and  curses,  but  all  to  no  purpose.     At  last  when  his  work  was  all  done,  and 


INDIAN    OX. 


walled  up  with  hewn  stone,  with  stone  steps  leading  down  to  the  water,  so  that 
none  could  gainsay  his  conscientious  sincerity,  he  went  secretly  to  a  blacksmith 
and  had  the  iron  cage  removed  and  locked  in  a  strong  box  for  the  missionary. 
This  was  in  May,  1866.  Later  in  the  same  year  he  was  baptized  by  Rev.  J.  E. 
Chandler.  He  stood  in  the  church  by  the  side  of  a  low-caste  woman  who 
would  never  have  dared  so  approach  him  when  a  heathen,  both  equally  depend- 
ent on  the  Mediator  for  pardon,  and  both  children  of  God.  He  married  a 
Christian  girl  and  became  a  respectable  farmer,  and  though  bound  in  affliction 
and  in  iron,  sat  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind. 

Since  his  conversion  he  has  continued  as  a  Christian.  He  had  bad  habits 
to  overcome,  as  all  such  do,  and  one  of  them  was  that  of  depending  on 
others  for  his  support  and  getting  money  by  asking  for  it.  He  tried  to  borrow 
from  the  missionary,  and,  because  it  could  not  be  given  him,  in  his  weakness  he 
held  aloof  for  a  considerable  time.     But  in  recent  years  he  has  become  active 


154 


Sacred  Men  in  India. 


again  as  a  member  of  the  church,  and  is  in  good  fellowship  with  his  Christian 
brethren. 

The  ox  represented  is  such  as  religious  mendicants  sometimes  lead  about. 
This  one  carries  water-skins  for  supplying  water  where  it  is  scarce.  But  the 
mendicants  often  train  them  to  nod  assent  to  certain  questions  and  shake  their 
heads  in  disapproval  of  others.  Then  they  put  artificial  horns  on  to  the  natural 
ones,  making  them  very  long  indeed,  and  adorn  the  horns  and  neck  and  body 
with  bright  colored  rags.  Taking  them  through  the  streets  as  they  beg,  when 
any  one  gives  them  food,  they  ask  the  ox  if  the  gods  will  bless  that  house  and 


ROLLING    FAKIRS. 


the  ox  answers  "  yes  "  by  nodding.  When  they  are  turned  away  from  any  house 
they  ask  the  ox  if  any  blessing  will  come  to  that  house,  and  it  shakes  its  head  in 
dissent.  And  the  poor  ignorant  people  think  they  will  be  blessed  or  cursed  as 
the  ox  indicates,  and  are  afraid  to  refuse  them  food. 

The  three  men  in  the  last  cut  are  rolling  round  the  same  rock  that  Sokappan 
rolled  around,  and  in  the  same  manner,  except  that  they  have  no  cages  on  their 
heads. 


SIN-CLEANSING  FOUNTAINS. 

BY   REV.   JAMES    E.    TRACY,    OF   THE    MADURA   MISSION,    INDIA. 


In  southern  India  there  are,  in  various  places,  fountains  and  streams  of  beautifu'. 
crystal  water  which  the  ignorant  people  believe  will  wash  away  their  sins.  They 
do  not  stop  to  ask  how  water  can  cleanse  their  souls  from  sin  ;  perhaps  they  do 
not  even  stop  to  think  what  sin  is ;  but  their  priests  and  ancestors  have  taught 
them  to  believe  that  their  gods  appointed  these  sacred  streams  and  fountains  as 
places  where  sin  would  be  washed  away,  and  so  they  go  to  them  and  bathe 
and  think  that  their  sins  are  taken  away. 

The  picture  on  the  next  page  shows  you  one  of  these  fountains.  It  springs 
out  of  a  forest-covered  mountain-side  in  the  Madura  district,  about  twelve  miles 
from  the  city  of  Madura.  Some  rich  man  has  built  a  stone  porch  over  it,  and  a 
bathing  reservoir,  so  that  pilgrims  who  come  to  wash  can  have  a  place  to  stay  in 
overnight,  and  so  that  different  castes  can  bathe  in  the  holy  water  withoui 
coming  into  too  close  contact  with  one  another ;  for  there  are  high-caste  sinners 
and  low-caste  sinners.  If  you  could  go  to  this  place,  you  would  not  see  where 
the  fountain  bubbles  out  of  the  mountain-side,  because  it  has  all  been  built  over ; 
but  in  the  back  part  of  the  great  porch,  where  you  see  the  pillars,  there  is  a 
large,  square  reservoir,  with  steps  on  all  four  sides  leading  down  into  the  water, 
and  the  fountain  sends  its  stream  into  this  reservoir  and  keeps  it  full  to  a  certain 
depth.  Here  high-caste  sinners  bathe  their  bodies  and  wash  their  clothes,  and  the 
water  overflows  and  runs  out  through  the  opening  which  you  see  under  the  litt7« 
stone  canopy.  Low-caste  sinners  must  content  themselves  with  bathing  in  this 
water  ;  and  you  see  one  man  is  squatting  down  on  a  flat  stone,  to  the  right  of  the 
tub,  and  the  sin-cleansing  stream  is  pouring  over  him.  On  the  front  of  the  tub  is 
carved  an  image  of  the  god  Karliar,  who  presides  over  the  fountain,  and  who  is 
worshiped  in  a  great  temple  down  by  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  not  far  away. 

People  come  here  to  bathe  at  all  times  in  the  year,  but  especially  during  the 
months  of  April  and  July,  because  during  those  months  great  festivals  are  held 
in  the  temple,  and  people  come,  sometimes  from  long  distances,  to  make  offerings 
at  the  shrine  and  to  wash  themselves  from  sin.  At  such  a  festival  you  would  see 
strange  sights.  Gay  costumes  of  many-colored  cloths,  and  men  and  women  and 
children  wearing  strange  kinds  of  ornaments  and  offering  various  articles  for  sale. 
You  would  see  men  and  boys  with  long,  uncombed  hair,  who  had  made  vows  not 
to  cut  or  comb  their  hair  till  this  festival,  when  they  make  an  offering  at  the 
shrine,  and  then,  after  having  their  heads  clean-shaved  all  over,  bathe  in  the 
fountain.  You  would  see  women  bringing  little  toy  cradles  as  offerings  to  the 
god  of  this  sacred  place,  who  has  given  them,  they  think,  some  blessing  for  a 
sick  child.     There  is  a  large  tree  standing  in  front  of  the  temple  and  on  its 


i56 


Sin-cleansing  Fountains. 


branches  are  hung  these  votive  cradles.  Some  of  them  are  large  enough  for  a 
child  to  lie  in  quite  comfortably,  and  some  of  them  are  too  small  even  for  a 
doll  to  stretch  itself  full-length. 

The  fountain  flows  out  from  one  of  the  steep  hillsides  which  together  form  a 
ravine ;  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  ravine,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  fountain, 
stands  the  temple.     The  water  of  the  fountain  runs  down  the  ravine  like  a  little 


<    '.    I 


A  SIN-CLEANSING   FOUNTAIN    IN    INDIA. 

silver  thread,  disappears  sometimes  and  then  comes  to  the  light  again,  and  finally 
flows  through  the  temple.  During  and  after  the  rainy  season  it  is  quite  a  stream, 
but  much  of  the  time  it  is,  as  you  see  it  in  the  picture,  only  a  mountain  spring. 
The  path  from  the  fountain  down  to  the  temple  is  a  beautiful  one  that  leads 
among  lovely  wild  flowers  and  through  tangled  thickets  and  under  great,  spread- 


Sin-cleansing  Fountain  \ . 


'57 


ing  trees,  and,  as  you  wander  in  and  out,  you  see  bright-plumaged  birds  flying 
about,  and  gay  butterflies  Lighting  on  the  flowers,  and  shadows  dancing  everywhere  ; 

and  in  the  midst  of  all  the   beauty  and  fragrance  of  nature  you  suddenly  come 

on  the  temple,  with  its   horrid    images   all   smeared  with   oil   and   paint.     The 

contrast  is  as  sad  as  it  is  startling. 

There  are  many  places  in  India  where  streams  and  fountains  are  supposed  by 

ignorant  people  to  have  the  power  of  cleansing  sin.     One  of  the  most  beautiful 

of  these  is  in  the  southern  mountains.     The  name  of  the  stream  is  Pava   Nasa 

Arw,  or,  The  Sin-destroying  River.     Thousands  of  pilgrims  go  there  every  year, 

even  from  long 

distances,    and 

after  they  have 

bathed    and 

washed    their 

clothes  clean  in 

the     running 

water,    they 

travel   home 

again  satisfied. 

The  road  to 

this    sacred 

place  is  shaded 

m u c h  of  the 

way  by  a  beau- 
tiful avenue  of 

banyan  -  trees, 

planted    many 

years  ago  by 

some  prince  or 

wealthy  man. 

It  gives  a   de- 
lightful shade 

for  the  pilgrims 

who   travel   on 

foot    and    who 

often   stop    on 
their  journey  at 

noon  or  at 
night,  to  pre- 
pare their  food  or  to  rest.  Under  many  of  these  trees  along  the  way  are  little 
shrines,  where  idols  are  placed  and  where  pilgrims  pause  to  worship  as  they 
go  by.  Many  years  ago  some  devout  person  set  up  an  idol  close  by  the  growing 
trunk  of  one  of  the  trees,  and  in  the  picture  above  you  see  what  has 
resulted.  The  tree  grew  larger  and  larger  until  it  enclosed  the  idol  in  the  folds 
of  its  growing  trunk,  and,  slowly  through  the  years,  the  idol  has  been  encased 
and  uplifted  and  become  an  inseparable  part  of  the  tree.  That  is  just  the  way 
it  often  is  with  us,  children.  Some  temptation  yielded  to  sets  up  a  bad  habit  in 
youth,  and,  unless  it  is  broken  up,  it  grows  on  with  the  growth  of  the  boy  or  girl 


IDOL  IN   A  TREE. 


158 


Sin-cleansing  Fou  ntains. 


till  it  becomes  just  as  firmly  fixed  in  his  or  her  life  as  the  idol  is  firmly  fixed  in 
the  tree.     It  ought  to  be  a  lesson  to  every  one  of  us. 

The  picture  below  shows  you  the  high  priest,  who  has  the  direction  of.,  and  a 
certain  control  over,  all  the  Sivite  temples  and  shrines  and  sacred  places  up  and 
down  the  district.  He  lives  in  the  great  temple  in  Madura,  and  has  great  author- 
ity in  all  the  ceremonial  and  financial  affairs  of  the  worship  conducted  there. 
He  is  looked  up  to  as  almost  a  god,  and  when  he  goes  anywhere  he  is  carried  in 
a  palanquin,  on  the  shoulders  of  men,  or  on  a  chair  over  which  is  borne  a  gor- 
geous umbrella  or  canopy.  His  forehead,  shoulders,  and  breast  are  smeared  with 
the  sacred  ashes  from  the  undying  sacrificial  fire.  His  garments  have  been 
washed  white  and  pure  in  holy  water.     The  circlet  upon  his  head  is  of  coral 


HIGH   PRIEST  OF  THE  MADURA  TEMPLE. 


beads  of  great  price,  and  around  his  neck  are  other  strings  of  beads  which  he 
uses  in  his  prayers.  You  notice  the  position  of  his  fingers,  and  that  his  right 
hand  is  holding  a  string  of  beads.  These  little  things  are  all  a  part  of  his  wor- 
ship, as  also  are  the  little  brass  jars  on  his  right  and  left  hand  and  the  folded 
pieces  of  silk  which  lie  before  him  on  the  embroidered  rug.  He  is  sitting  cross- 
legged  upon  a  platform,  behind  which  rises  a  back  or  screen.  His  face  does  not 
look  as  if  he  were  a  man  whose  religious  life  had  made  him  more  conscious  of 
God's  presence.  He  is  a  fat,  well-fed  man,  learned  in  Sanskrit,  and  an  able  man 
of  affairs,  but  not  a  man  of  holy  life.  His  religion  does  not  require  him  to  be 
holy,  nor  does  it  teach  him  that  only  the  pure  in  heart  can  see  God  or  be  happy 
in  his  presence. 


*v-<-  :i^r t' 


tigp 


CHILDREN    IN    INDIA. 

BY    REV.    JOHN    S.    CHANDLER,    OK   MADURA. 


The  picture  of  the  three  children  shows  that  children  in  India  enjoy  a  good 
meal  as  well  as  those  in  any  other  land.  These  two  little  girls  and  one  boy  have 
been  eating  off  plates  made  of  banyan  leaves  pinned  together  by  straws.  Their 
food  is  rice  with  a  little  curry  made  pungent  by  red  peppers.     They  have  used 


AFTER    DINNER    IN    INDIA. 


their  hands  to  eat  with,  and  now  all  that  remains  for  them  to  clear  the  table  is  to 
wash  their  hands  and  throw  away  the  leafy  plates  where  dogs  will  come  and  lick 
up  the  remains  of  food.     The  clothing  they  wear,  a  single  cloth  apiece  and 


i6o 


Children  in  India. 


necklaces  and  bracelets  for  the  girls,  is  the  usual  outfit  of  the  majority  of  such 
small  children,  if,  indeed,  they  wear  anything  at  all.  Some  kind  ladies  in 
America  once  sent  out  for  such  little  boys  as  this  one  a  quantity  of  butterfly 
neckties  to  be  buttoned  at  the  neck.  As  children  grow  older  the  girls  are  occu- 
pied more  and  more  in  the  houses,  and  the  boys  in  the  fields. 

The  young  woman  in  the  picture  below  has  swept  the  space  in  front  of  the 
door  in  the  street,  and  with  great  dexterity  made  all  sorts  of  geometrical  figures 
by  dropping  white  ashes  between  her  thumb  and  forefinger.  These  front-door 
decorations  are  made  in  connection  with  festivals  in  honor  of  their  idols,  and 
little  girls  learn  to  make  them  wonderfully  well.     When  she  has  finished  this  the 


DECORATING    THE   THRESHOLD. 


young  woman  will  go  to  the  well,  with  earthen  or  brass  vessels,  to  bring  water 
for  cooking  and  bathing  purposes,  and  often  several  girls  will  go  together  for 
company  and  for  assistance  in  raising  the  heavy  water  jars  to  their  heads.  Some- 
times one  girl  will  carry  two,  and  even  three,  pots  of  water  on  her  head,  one  on 
top  of  the  other.  Certain  castes  have  the  custom  of  carrying  the  water  jar  on 
the  hip  instead  of  the  head. 

Another  operation  that  requires  much  practice  and  skill  is  that  of  pounding 
the  grain  to  be  cooked.  This  is  done  in  a  solid  mortar  of  wood  or  stone,  by  a 
long  wooden  pestle  raised  and  brought  down  on  end  on  the  grain  in  the  small 
hollow  of  the  mortar.     As  the  grain  is  driven  out  around  the  edge  it  is  brought 


Children  in  India.  \C>\ 

bat  k  by  the  hand  of  an  assistant,  or  the  bare  foot  of  the  one  pounding.  Two 
girls  standing  on  opposite  sides  will  pound  alternately  and  avoid  interference 
with  each  other's  pestle  most  adroitly.  ( )ne  of  the  earliest  amusements  of 
little  girls  is  pounding  a  little  heap  of  sand  with  a  smooth  stick,  as  the  older  ones 
pound  grain. 

Boys  have  to  do  more  outdoor  work,  following  usually  the  occupations  of  their 
fathers.  The  third  picture  shows  how  much  of  the  water  is  drawn  out  of  wells. 
They  have  no  pumps,  so  they  plant  a  stout  post  in  the  ground  near  the  well  and 
place  a  long  well-sweep  across  the  top  so  that  one  end  can  be  drawn  down  over 
the  well.  To  this  end  a  long  bamboo  pole  is  fastened,  and  by  it  a  large  wide 
bucket  is  lowered  into  the  well  and  drawn  up  full  of  water.  The  man  who  works 
the  bucket  stands  on  two  stone  slabs  projecting  from  the  side  of  the  well  near  the 
top.  To  help  him  bring  up  the  weight  of  water  in  the  bucket  one  man  mounts 
to  the  middle  of  the  well-sweep  and,  when  the  bucket  end  is  down,  walks  to  the 
other  end  to  carry  that  down  by  his  weight  and  thus  bring  the  bucket  up.  This 
requires  much  steadiness  and  practice  in  balancing  one's  self  on  the  sweep  as  it 
seesaws  back  and  forth.  It  is  usually  learned  in  boyhood,  and  it  is  a  common 
sight  to  see  three  or  four  men  and  boys  rapidly  moving  back  and  forth  on  a  well- 
sweep,  and  thus  drawing  out  the  water  that  flows  along  many  channels  to  irrigate 
the  fields  of  young  grain.  The  moisture  near  the  well  encourages  the  growth  of 
shrubs  and  trees,  and  many  a  well,  like  the  one  shown  on  the  next  page,  has  a 
cluster  of  oleander  bushes  and  cocoanut  trees  by  its  side. 

Many  boys  are  too  poor  to  have  the  chance  to  learn  this  kind  of  work,  and 
get  a  living  by  watching  the  grazing  cattle.  The  cattle  and  buffaloes  of  a  village 
are  committed  to  them  in  the  morning,  and  they  drive  them  about  over  the 
fields  wherever  there  is  pasture  until  the  evening,  when  they  are  brought  back  in 
herds  to  their  owners. 

One  of  the  great  games  of  the  country  is  to  turn  loose  excited  bulls  and  oxen 
with  cloths  on  their  horns,  and  then  try  to  pull  off  the  cloths  ;  and  these  cowboys 
often  amuse  themselves  by  seizing  the  tail  of  some  frisky  young  animal  and 
chasing  it  over  the  fields. 

These  children  learn  much  evil  from  their  superstitious  and  ignorant  parents, 
but  they  are  capable  of  learning  that  which  is  good  and  true. 

One  little  boy  in  a  heathen  family  attended  a  mission  school  and,  with  his 
secular  lessons,  learned  the  stories  of  the  Bible  and  many  of  its  beautiful  verses. 
As  he  grew  older  he  felt  that  the  idols  worshiped  by  his  parents  and  all  his  people 
were  not  gods  and  could  not  save  his  soul.  Several  other  young  men  felt  just  as 
he  did,  his  younger  brother  among  them,  and  finally  they  decided  to  become 
Christians.  Immediately  their  friends  began  to  persecute  them  so  much  that  all 
went  back  except  this  young  man  and  his  brother.  These  two  were  faithful  to 
Jesus  and  refused  to  go  back  to  their  heathen  ways.  So  they  were  turned  out  of 
their  home  and  went  to  a  training  school  to  become  teachers.  There  they  were 
baptized  and  admitted  to  the  Christian  Church.  Since  then  they  have  both 
become  teachers,  and  the  older  one  is  now  a  valued  and  useful  instructor  in  the 
theological  school.  He  has  a  happy  Christian  home  to  live  in,  with  furniture  and 
books  to  make  him  comfortable  and  contented.  But  his  father  and  mother  hve 
in  a  low  house  that  looks  more  like  a  hut  with  mud  walls  and  thatched  roof,  where 


l62 


Children  in  India. 


cows  and  buffaloes  go  in  at  the  front  door  and  occupy  one  side  of  the  square, 
while  the  family  have  their  small  rooms  on  the  opposite  side.  For  the  house  is 
a  square  enclosure  open  in  the  middle.  The  floors  are  bare  except  where  they 
spread  mats  to  sleep  on  at  night.  Sometimes  in  the  hottest  weather  they  sleep 
outside  in  the  street  on  the  bare  ground. 

The  difference  between  this  teacher  in  his  civilized  home  and  his  relatives  in 


DRAWING    WATER. 


their  heathen  houses  is  what  Christ  has  done  for  him  in  his  outward  life.  In  his 
heart  Christ  has  done  a  great  deal  more  by  giving  him  the  blessed  Spirit  to  teach 
him  the  truth  and  make  him  hate  all  sin  and  love  God  and  his  fellow-men.  His 
heathen  relatives,  on  the  other  hand,  not  knowing  the  true  Saviour,  are  full  of 
fear  about  the  anger  of  the  gods  they  worship,  and  know  nothing  of  the  peace 
and  ioy  of  trusting  in  Jesus. 


4 A 


A   MISSION'S   WORK    FOR  THE   YOUNG. 

BY    REV.    JOHN    P.    JONES,    OF    PASUMALAI,    SOUTHERN    INDIA. 


Every  mission  is  permanently  successful  in  proportion  as  it  does  thorough 
work  for  the  young  people  intrusted  to  it.  In  heathen  lands  this  work  is  carried 
on  mostly  through  schools.  I  have  heard  men,  ignorant  of  the  work,  ask  the 
question:  "  Does  it  pay  to  conduct  mission  schools  in  India?"     They  might  as 


THE     HIGH     SCHOOL     AT     MADURA. 

well  ask,  Does  it  pay  to  build  a  foundation  to  a  house  ?  Does  it  pay  to  prepare 
well  the  soil,  sow  good  seed,  and  water  and  weed  it  carefully  in  order  to  have  a 
good  harvest?  All  missionaries,  as  they  see  the  mighty  influence  of  inese  insti- 
tutions in  uplifting  and  transforming  the  Christian  community  and  in  leavening 
the  whole  lump  of  heathenism,  never  question  the  wisdom  of  our  school  work. 

.63 


164  A  Mission  s  Work  for  the  Young. 

One  class  of  our  schools  is  intended  to  reach  those  who  are  not  Christians  — 
to  open  the  Word  of  God  to  them  daily,  and  to  teach  them  the  divine  excel- 
lence of  our  Lord  and  the  heavenly  character  of  our  religion,  and  thus  to  make 
Christians  of  them.  In  our  Madura  Mission  we  have  more  than  ico  such 
institutions,  with  nearly  4,000  heathen  and  Mohammedan  children  in  attendance. 
They  attend  our  schools,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  are  probably  other 
schools  in  the  neighborhood,  because  we  furnish  them  with  a  better  education. 
Many  Hindus  send  their  children  to  these  schools  because  they  are  Christian 
schools.  More  than  one  Hindu  has  said  to  me,  "  I  can  trust  your  Christian 
schools  to  give,  not  only  a  good  secular  education,  but  also  a  sound  moral  train- 
ing to  my  children.  This  we  cannot  find  in  our  schools."  In  all  these  schools 
we  daily  teach  God's  Word  to  all  the  scholars  and  inculcate  the  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  is  wonderful  to  see  how  much  of  God's  Word  these  bright  children 
of  retentive  memory  can  recite. 

I  remember  nearly  two  years  ago  hearing  each  member  of  the  whole  upper 
class  of  a  small  out-of-the-way  village- school  recite  at  one  time  135  verses  out  of 
the  Bible,  being  all  their  Bible  lessons  since  I  last  visited  them.  They  also 
told  me  where  those  verses  were  found  and  gave  the  subject  of  each  lesson. 
Some  of  the  brightest  and  most  earnest  Christians  we  have  in  our  mission  are 
those  who  were  brought  to  Christ  through  the  schools.  How  blessed  a  work 
to  lead  these  4,000  young  and  tender  minds  out  of  the  dark  mazes  of  heathenish 
superstitions,  follies,  and  errors  into  the  sweetness  and  light  and  saving  power 
of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  ! 

The  picture  on  the  preceding  page  represents  to  you  the  highest  of  this  class 
of  schools  in  our  mission,  the  High  School  of  Madura  City.  It  was  erected  a  few 
years  ago,  and  has  in  it  more  than  200  bright  youths  under  instruction.  They 
are  the  sons  of  men  of  influence  and  culture  in  that  city.  They  are  to  become, 
in  fifteen  or  twenty  years  hence,  men  of  power  and  pillars  of  society.  Who  can 
estimate  the  influence  upon  the  life  of  these  young  men  and  of  this  city  of  the 
quiet  daily  work  of  this  Christian  institution  ?  As  I  have  sat  before  the  highest 
class  in  that  school,  a  class  of  forty  young  Hindus  and  Mohammedans,  con- 
ducting their  Bible  lesson  in  English,  observing  their  thoughtful  inquiry  and 
youthful  interest  and  surprise  at  Bible  truth,  I  have  said  to  myself,  "  Where  upon 
the  streets  of  our  cities  or  villages  in  India  could  a  man  find  so  attentive  and  so 
appreciative  an  audience  to  address  and  to  instruct  as  the  teacher  daily  finds  in 
every  one  of  these  schools?"  This  school  at  Madura  is  a  growth.  It  began 
many  years  since  as  a  primary  school.  Subsequently  there  was  a  demand  that  it 
be  made  a  Middle  School.  Some  years  ago  it  was  found  necessary  to  convert  it 
into  a  High  School.  Four  fifths  of  the  more  than  200  students  are  Hindus,  and 
of  the  other  fifth  one  half  are  Mohammedans  and  the  other  half  Christians.  The 
building  is  the  best  for  its  purpose  in  the  district,  and  has  a  good  site  in  the  city  of 
Madura,  which  has  a  population  of  83,000  souls.  In  connection  with  it  there  is 
a  prosperous  Sunday-school.  Public  lectures  are  given,  and  a  public  reading- 
room  is  also  maintained.  Such  institutions  are  a  vast  power  to  leaven  the  lump 
of  heathenism. 


./  Mission's  Work  for  tin-  Young. 


[6< 


The  other  class  of  schools  that  we  have  are  those  intended  chiefly  for  out 
Christian  young  people.     These  are  so  arranged  and  classified   that  only  the 

brightest  and  best  of  our  Christian  children   enter  the  highest  of  them.     And 


most  of  these  children  are  trained  with  a  view  to  becoming  leaders  of  the 
Christian  community,  as  preachers,  teachers,  or  Bible-women  in  our  mission.  The 
Bible  training  which  these  children  receive  is  very   thorough  ;  they   are   vastly 


1 66  A  Mission  s  Work  for  the  Young. 

better  informed  in  God's  Word  than  are  most  of  the  young  people  of  America 
to-day.  In  one  of  our  small  boarding  schools  for  girls  the  missionary  lady  in 
charge  tried  some  months  ago  an  experiment.  One  morning  she  took  paper  in 
her  hands  into  the  school,  and  without  warning  told  the  girls  to  be  seated  and  to 
write  down  as  many  Bible  verses  as  they  could  remember  at  the  time.  One 
girl  wrote  76,  another  73,  another  71,  and  others  nearly  as  many  verses  from 
memory. 

The  highest  school  for  our  Christian  girls  is  the  Madura  Girls'  Normal  School, 
where  the  scholars  receive  not  only  almost  a  High  School  education,  but  are  also 
furnished  with  a  Normal  training  and  certificate  which  qualifies  them  for  posi- 
tions of  trust  and  usefulness,  both  in  and  out  of  the  mission.  The  graduates  of 
this  school  are  doing  splendid  work  all  over  South  India.  I  saw  a  couple  of 
years  ago  a  revival  of  God's  Spirit  sweep  through  this  school  and  bring  all  those 
bright  young  women  into  a  new  or  a  higher  life  of  joy  in  Christ.  This  school 
has  had  much  to  do  in  shaping  and  developing  the  high  type  of  Christian 
womanhood  now  found  in  our  mission. 

The  highest  of  our  schools  for  Christian  boys  is  the  institution  at  Pasumalai, 
containing  as  it  does  the  theological,  normal,  and  collegiate  departments.  For 
thorough  Christian  training  and  broad  liberal  culture  this  institution  is  not 
excelled  by  any  in  India;  and  it  is  doing  a  quiet  but  all-important  work  of 
preparing  a  large  number  of  native  Christian  agents  for  our  and  other  missions, 
and  for  the  regeneration  of  the  millions  of  that  district. 

On  the  preceding  page  is  a  reproduction  of  a  recent  photograph  of  some  of 
its  students,  nearly  all  of  them  being  members  of  the  theological  department. 
Of  these  young  men  ten  have  come  directly  from  heathenism  ;  and  the  persecu- 
tion which  they  have  endured  on  account  of  their  new  faith  reveals  a  higher 
Christian  heroism,  and  the  story  of  it  would  read  like  a  romance  to  Americans. 
Some  of  them,  to  my  knowledge,  have  had  to  overcome  obstacles  and  withstand 
tears  and  appeals  which  none  but  parental  love  and  Hindu  ingenuity  could  bring 
to  bear  upon  young  Christians. 

One  of  them  is  the  son  of  a  petty  nobleman.  Another  has  come  out  of  very 
low  heathenism  into  a  Christian  experience  of  faith  and  joy,  the  rehearsal  of 
which  has  brought  me  great  cheer  and  delight.  Still  another  has  since  been 
ordained  as  a  pastor  of  one  of  the  leading  churches  of  our  mission.  Several  of 
them  are  the  orphan  children  of  heathen  parents  who  died  during  the  famine  of 
1876.  They  were  picked  up  as  helpless  and  hungry  waifs,  and  are  now  the  intelli- 
gent and  grateful  monuments  of  the  missionary's  Christian  philanthropy.  Some 
are  the  sons  of  faithful  Christian  parents,  the  children  of  prayer,  and  well  trained 
in  Tamil  and  English  for  useful  Christian  service.  These  young  men  are  only  a 
few  out  of  about  400  youths  who  were  then  enjoying  the  intellectual  light  and 
warm  Christian  inspiration  of  that  grand  institution. 

Who  can  estimate  the  invaluable  service  of  the  more  than  150  schools  of  our 
mission?  What  could  we  do  without  them?  Each  one  is  a  beacon  of  light  and 
a  harbinger  of  salvation  to  a  village  or  circle  in  that  district  which  is  a  centre 
and  stronghold  of  heathenism.  The  brains,  the  bones  and  muscle  of  Christ's 
church  in  India  are  to  be  formed  and  developed  in  these  schools. 


A  HINDU  VILLAGE. 


BY  REV.  JOHN  S.  CHANDLER,  OF  MADURA. 


Many  a  village  in  South  India  has  no  road  leading  to  it.  Cart-tracks  from 
different  directions  are  the  only  approaches,  and  in  the  wet  season  these  are 
flooded  with  water  or  enclosed  in  the  fields  and  cultivated.  Then  the  only  way 
for  carts  is  through  the  water.  Foot  passengers  can  always  reach  them,  for  the 
natives  go  barefooted  and  do  not  mind  water  and  mud.  Even  with  shoes  on, 
one  can  often  reach  such  a  village  by  keeping  along  the  ridges  between  the  rice- 
fields  and  on  the  embankments  of  the  watercourses. 


A    HINDU    VILLAGE    SANCTUARY. 


The  picture  above  shows  the  general  place  of  worship  for  the  villagers.  They 
may  have  other  places  too,  and  many  idols  in  their  houses,  but  this  is  the  pro- 
tecting sanctuary.  At  the  right,  the  largest  idol  is  of  stone  and  represents  Gana- 
pati,  the  elephant-headed  god,  the  one  that  is  supposed  to  bring  prosperity  and 
bless  the  family  life  of  the  people  and  help  the  children  acquire  knowledge. 

167 


1 68 


A  Hindu  Villa  ere. 


Around  him  are  various  little  images,  many  of  them  being  the  hooded  cobra, 
which  is  an  attendant  god.  In  front  are  several  rows  of  images  of  cattle.  Cattle 
are  sacred,  and  one  of  the  gods  rides  on  a  great  bull,  they  think,  so  they  always 
have  images  of  them.  Here  they  have  an  unusual  number.  Behind  them  is  a 
stone  frame  from  which  hang  brass  bells  bound  to  the  cross-slab  by  iron  chains. 
The  people  will  often  fasten  such  bells  to  a  tree,  and  when  the  wind  blows  the 
branches  and  makes  the  bells  ring,  they  think  the  god  is  swinging  in  the  branches. 
Once  a  man  plowing  found  a  lot  of  brass  bells  and  hollow  balls  and  other 
things  in  the  ground,  and  he  told  the  people  about  them.  They  came  and  took 
them  to  the  shrine  of  a  devil  near  by.  But  when  it  did  not  rain,  they  thought 
these  bells  must  have  belonged  to  some  other  devil,  and  that  their  devil  was  angry 


HINDU    CARPENTERS. 


at  seeing  them,  and  therefore  stopped  the  rain.  So  they  met  again  and  took  the 
bells  and  balls  carefully  back  to  the  plowed  field  where  they  were  first  found. 

Some  of  the  houses  are  circular  in  shape,  but  the  walls  are  of  mud  and  the 
roof  of  stalks  or  other  thatch.  A  few  small  tulip-trees  are  near  the  houses,  but 
the  only  large  trees  are  at  the  right,  where  they  stand  on  the  low  bank  of  a  tank 
of  muddy  water.  And  this  tank  supplies  the  water  for  the  village,  including  men 
and  beasts. 

If  we  go  through  the  narrow  streets  without  any  sidewalks  to  the  other  side, 
we  shall  come  upon  some  better  houses,  as  shown  in  the  second  picture.  One  is 
flat-roofed  and  built  of  brick  and  mud  upon  a  foundation  of  stone  and  mud.  It 
is  whitewashed.     The  next  one  is  a  large   mud-house  with    the  outside   wall 


A  Hindu  Village.  [69 

painted  in  perpendicular  red  and  white  stripes.  Within  there  is  an  open  court, 
with  several  rooms  and  some  cattle  stalls  on  the  four  sides,  and  in  the  open  1  ourl 
there  is  probably  a  circular  building,  like  the  one  on  the  left  of  the  first  picture, 
which  is  the  granary.  In  this  they  store  the  coarse  ^rain  they  gel  tor  the  j 
supply  after  harvest.  The  better  classes  have  rice,  but  the  majority  of  country 
people  are  too  poor  to  buy  even  rice,  and  have  to  live  on  cheap  grains  that  will 
grow  without  much  rain.  Various  kinds  of  sorghum  and  maize  and  millet  are 
common.  They  have  very  little  meat  to  eat,  because  they  are  too  poor.  This 
year  a  large  number  of  prisoners  were  released  from  the  jails  because  it  is  the 
jubilee  year  of  the  queen-empress.  But  some  of  them  do  not  like  to  live  at 
home,  where  they  are  so  poor,  and  have  committed  crimes  in  order  to  be  taken 
back  to  jail,  where  they  have  regular  food  and  meat  twice  a  week. 

The  three  men  in  the  foreground  are  sawyers,  sawing  a  log  into  planks. 
One  stands  on  the  upper  side  to  draw  the  long  two-handled  saw  up,  the  other 
two  below  to  draw  it  down. 

Their  wood  is  mostly  hard,  and  it  takes  a  long  time  to  saw  the  planks,  and 
when  sawed  they  are  very  thick  and  fit  only  for  rude  workmanship.  Carts,  doors, 
frames  for  doors  and  windows,  and  benches  are  about  all  they  make,  and  they 
work  very  slowly.  A  carpenter  likes  to  sit  down  on  the  ground  and  use  his  toes 
for  a  vise.  The  people  generally  use  their  toes  to  pick  up  little  things  from  the 
ground.  I  once  asked  a  man  why  he  did  not  stoop  over  to  pick  up  a  stone.  He 
said  it  was  much  better  to  pick  it  up  with  his  toes  and  bring  it  up  to  the  hand 
behind  the  body ;  for  if  he  were  facing  a  tiger  and  should  stoop  over  for  a  stone, 
the  tiger  would  spring  upon  him  ;  whereas  by  picking  it  up  with  his  foot,  he 
could  keep  his  eye  on  the  tiger  all  the  time. 

If  we  go  to  still  another  side  of  the  village,  we  may  see  the  pleasant  sight 
shown  in  the  illustration  on  the  next  page.  Here  is  a  Christian  schoolhouse  and 
prayer-house  with  the  school-children  sitting  on  the  ground,  the  monitor  at  one 
side,  and  the  teacher  standing  behind.  This  is  a  mud-building  too,  and  it  has 
been  whitewashed  on  the  four  sides  ;  but  in  front  the  rain  has  washed  off  the 
whitewash  except  just  under  the  narrow  eaves. 

There  are  myriads  and  myriads  of  little  white  ants  all  under  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  they  move  in  swarms  through  everything  made  of  mud,  to  eat  any 
wood  or  thatch  they  can  find.  So  the  roof  of  such  a  house  soon  gets  white  ants 
into  it,  and  every  two  or  three  years  has  to  be  renewed. 

The  teacher  wears  a  dark  jacket  and  a  white  cloth  and  a  turban  ;  but  the  chil- 
dren have  each  a  single  cloth  about  the  waist,  and  one  or  two  have  handker- 
chiefs over  their  shoulders.  They  have  nothing  at  all  about  their  necks,  and  yet 
some  good  ladies  in  America  once  sent  a  gift  to  such  little  boys  of  a  lot  of 
butterfly  neckties  with  elastic  loops  to  fasten  to  buttons. 

In  the  front  row  are  five  little  girls  ;  the  rest  are  all  boys.  They  all  have  their 
ears  bored,  but  the  girls'  ears  are  stretched  and  made  long  enough  so  that  the 
rings  they  put  in  them  can  reach  down  to  their  shoulders.  In  the  picture  the 
largest  girl,  who  sits  in  the  middle  with  her  white  cloth  over  her  shoulder,  has 
rings  in  her  ears  that  rest  on  her  shoulder. 

They  generally  study  inside  the  building  and  always  sit  on  the  floor.     They 


I/O 


A  Hindu  Village. 


have  not  many  slates  ;  so  when  it  is  necessary  to  write  their  letters,  they  sprinkle 
fine  sand  on  the  floor  and  write  with  their  fingers.  The  monitor  has  to  tell  the 
little  ones  their  letters  and  show  them  how  to  make  them,  while  the  teacher  hears 
the  lessons  of  the  older  pupils. 

In  the  evening  the  old  folks  come  to  this  prayer-house,  and  the  teacher  reads 
to  them  the  Bible  and  prays  with  them.  Then  on  Sunday  all  meet  to  be  taught 
Bible  stories  and  to  worship  God.  They  have  many  nice  songs  about  Christ, 
which  they  love  to  sing.  They  also  love  to  pray,  for  they  are  childlike  and  trust- 
ful toward  God  and  pray  very  often. 


christian  prayer-house  and  schoolhouse. 


So,  while  on  the  other  side  of  the  village  there  are  all  those  repulsive  idols  and 
images  of  many  gods,  with  strange  ceremonies  that  the  people  perform,  here  the 
few  Christians  meet  and  learn  that  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him 
must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

There  are  more  than  two  hundred  villages  in  the  Madura  district,  where  these 
little  Christian  prayer-houses  are  a  witness  to  God's  love  in  Christ;  but  they  are 
very  small,  and  thousands  and  thousands  of  the  village  people  never  go  to  them 
at  all  because  they  prefer  their  idols.  Let  us  work  and  pray  that  they  may  all 
throw  away  their  idols  to  the  moles  and  the  bats,  and  come  and  love  and  worship 
their  heavenly  Father. 


ON    THE    HILLS  AND    PLAINS   OF    INDIA. 

KODEIKANAL    AND    MANAMADUR A. 

BY    REV.    I.    P.    llul.TON,    OK    MANAMADURA. 


As  Madura  lies  about  ten  degrees  north  of  the  equator,  we  have  two  midsum- 
mers when  the  sun  is  right  overhead  at  noonday,  and  it  is  extremely  hot.  The 
second  of  these  is  much  tempered  by  the  monsoon,  the  steady  wind  which  blows 
night  and  day  for  weeks  ;  but  the  earlier  one,  before  the  monsoon  "  breaks,"  is 
almost  intolerable.  Where  it  does  not  cause  headaches  and  sleeplessness  it 
often  exhausts  a  strong  man's  vigor  worse  than  would  a  hard  day  at  haying  at 
home.  The  little  children  suffer  worst,  losing  all  color,  appetite,  sleep,  and  vigor, 
becoming  pallid  little  ghosts  of  what  healthy  children  should  be.  So,  several 
years  ago  the  wise  forefathers  of  this  mission  pioneered  a  path  up  the  winding, 
rocky  beds  of  the  mountain  streams,  up  through  the  dense  thickets  of  tall,  lemon- 
scented  grass,  thorny  date  palms,  bristling  canebrake  and  tangles  of  rattan,  up 
above  the  fever  belt,  about  5,000  feet,  up  to  the  top  of  the  Palani  Hills,  where 
the  nights  are  cool,  and  the  midday  heat  scarcely  more  than  it  is  in  New  Eng- 
land in  May.  Here  in  a  vast  grove  or  kanal,  once  the  gift  of  a  rajah  to  his  bride 
{Kodei  means  gift),  they  acquired  cheaply  from  the  government  an  extensive 
piece  of  land,  built  a  few  mud  and  thatch  cottages,  and  during  the  two  or  three 
hot,  windless  months  of  the  year  brought  their  wives  and  little  ones  up  out  of  the 
stifling  heat.  The  rapid,  beneficial  effect  of  the  air  here  upon  children  and  inva- 
lids has  always  been  a  wonder.  It  succeeds  where  all  else  has  failed.  Civilians, 
government  officials,  and  planters  soon  began  to  follow ;  roads  were  surveyed, 
cut,  and  graded  ;  a  small  brook  in  a  wide  meadow  was  changed  into  a  beautiful 
little  lake  set  among  the  hills.  Homes  began  to  spring  up  upon  the  slopes  and 
shoulders,  some  of  them  permanent  and  costly.  The  mission's  houses  have 
always  remained  small  and  unpretentious,  though  the  thatch  long  ago  gave  place 
to  corrugated  iron  and  tiles.  There  are  six  of  them  now,  each  capable  of  hold- 
ing two  families,  or  more,  if  convenience  is  sacrificed  a  little.  All  are  plainly  and 
scantily  furnished,  and  are  rented  to  civilians  during  other  than  the  two  months 
that  we  are  usually  up  here.  Kodei  (as  we  abbreviate  it)  is  a  very  beautiful  place. 
The  picture  on  the  next  page,  from  a  drawing  made  some  years  ago,  shows  the 
lake,  but  few  of  the  houses.  The  trees  have  been  cut  sparingly  and  judiciously, 
so  that  most  of  the  houses  are  hidden  by  them.  Where  mistakes  have  been 
made  they  have  been  speedily  remedied,  as  most  of  the  trees  here  are  remarkably 
rapid  growers.  By  sales  and  rents  the  sanitarium  has  from  the  first  been  mainly 
self-supporting. 

The  way  to  reach  Kodei  is  this  :  from  Madura  we  come  twenty  miles  by  train 
to  a  place  with  the  diminutive  name  of  Ammayanayakanur,  where  we  take  two- 


172 


On  the  Hills  and  Plains  of  India. 


wheeled  spring  carts,  capable  of  holding  comfortably  two  of  us,  three  servants, 
and   considerable   luggage.     They  are  drawn   by  stout   little   trotting   bullocks 


which  are  changed  every  six  or  eight  miles.     They  can  easily  trot  six  miles  an 
hour,  so  that  the  thirty-two  miles  to  the  Tope,  or  grove,  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 


On  the  Hills  and  Plains  of  India.  I  73 

tains,  can  easily  be  made  in  five  hours.  At  the  Tope  the  twelve-mile  climb 
begins,  and  the  ways  of  locomotion  vary.  The  ladies  and  children  go  up  in 
chairs  and  cholies  —  a  sort  of  reclining  palanquin  —  on  coolies'  heads,  four  men 
carrying  at  a  time,  with  others  to  take  turns  with  them.  The  men  sometimes  go 
up  on  hired  tats,  or  ponies,  which  are  often  most  sorry  specimens  of  equine 
architecture,  and  require  so  much  vociferous  objurgation  that  the  man  who  has 
to  propel  his  own  tat  often  has  to  work  his  passage,  and  so  will  arrive  here  fully 
as  weary  as,  and  much  later  than,  his  more  athletic  friend  who  wisely  takes  off  his 
coat  and  walks  all  the  way.  The  coolies  take  about  six  hours  to  walk  the  twelve 
miles,  often  breaking  the  monotony  of  their  steady  tramp  by  singing,  solo  and 
chorus,  "  Hungokum,"  "  Ho  !  Ho  !  "  "  Samebum,"  "  Ho  !  Ho  !  "  As  the  path 
is  too  steep,  narrow,  and  winding  for  a  cart,  all  the  luggage  and  furniture  — 
beds,  bureaus,  stoves,  boats,  and  pianos  — have  to  come  up  on  coolies'  heads,  fifty 
pounds  for  a  single  head  load,  forty  per  man  when  more  than  a  single  load.  It 
is  wonderful  to  see  a  little  eighty-pound  coolie  toiling  steadily  up  the  path  with  a 
fifty  or  sixty  pound  box  or  bundle  on  his  head.  A  white  man  of  twice  his 
weight  would  have  his  cranium  crushed  in,  or  his  neck  strained  severely,  if  he  tried 
to  do  it  for  even  half  a  mile. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  is  the  usual  time  for  beginning  the  ascent ; 
the  fresh  coolness,  the  gradual  awakening  of  the  world  to  the  new  day,  the  shrill 
crowing  of  the  jungle  cocks,  the  distant  barking  of  the  big  black  monkeys,  the 
boy-like  notes  of  a  bird,  called  "  the  whistling  schoolboy,"  and  the  occasional 
glimpses  through  the  trees  of  the  panorama  of  the  plains,  slowly  unfolding  their 
expanse  of  tanks,  streams,  green  paddy-fields,  brown  sands,  or  yellow  harvests,  — 
all  make  it  a  most  charming  journey. 

The  life  here  at  Kodei  is  markedly  social.  After  people  have  been  living 
for  ten  months  in  widely  separated  stations,  and  seeing  other  white  faces  but 
rarely,  they  evince  a  great  fondness  for  tennis  parties,  picnics,  sociables,  and 
concerts.  The  preaching  services,  both  Tamil  and  English,  the  social  "  sings  " 
and  prayer-meetings,  are  all  largely  attended.  During  the  season  there  are  more 
than  sixty  missionaries  up  here,  from  more  than  a  dozen  different  missions,  and 
they  have  now  for  several  years  held  a  convention,  "  for  the  deepening  of  spirit- 
ual life,"  which  has  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  refreshing  and  refitting  for  a 
new  year  of  work  on  the  plains. 

During  the  last  sixteen  days  of  March,  leaving  my  family  at  Kodei,  away  from 
the  heat  and  fevers,  I  went  off  on  a  long  itineracy  in  the  farthest  corner  of  my 
station.  I  had  my  own  sturdy  little  bullocks,  Annan  and  Thambi  (Elder 
Brother  and  Little  Brother),  and  my  springless  cart,  with  double  tent,  sciop- 
ticon,  folding  bed,  table  and  chair,  provision  and  food  boxes,  and  a  box  with  my 
new  stone  filter,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  safe  drinking  water.  A  hired  bandy  carried 
a  smaller  tent  for  the  twelve  catechists,  their  sleeping  mats,  blankets,  bundles  of 
clothing,  cooking  and  food  boxes,  and  a  box  of  books  and  tracts.  Our  first 
camp  was  thirty-three  miles  from  home,  and  our  farthest  was  nearly  thirty  more. 
Our  plan  of  work  was  for  all  to  arise  before  dawn,  have  prayers  together,  and 
then  separate,  going  two  by  two  to  all  the  villages  within  a  radius  of  six  miles, 
preaching,  singing,  talking  with  individuals,  distributing  fly  leaves  to  all  who 
could  read,  and  selling  tracts  and  Scripture  portions  wherever  people  would  buy. 


174 


On  the  Hills  and  Plains  of  India. 


These  are  sold  at  about  half  what  it  costs  to  produce  them,  as  we  find  they  are 
more  apt  to  be  careful  of  them  and  read  them  than  if  they  were  to  receive  them 
gratuitously.  The  American  Tract  Society  gives  us  an  annual  grant  to  enable  us 
to  do  this.  All  come  back  to  camp,  or  go  on  to  the  new  one  at  some 
appointed  village,  at  about  noon,  and  lie  down  in  the  shade  to  sleep,  converse,  or 
read  until  their  food  is  ready. 

After  food  and  rest  I  would  gather  the  helpers  in  my  tent,  and  spend  about 
two  hours  with  them  in  studying  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  chapter  by  chapter, 
closing  with  prayers.  I  myself  got  a  good  deal  of  benefit  from  these  meetings, 
and  I  hope  they  did  also.     They  would  then  go  out  for  shorter  distances  than  in 


A  SPRINGlESS  bullock  cart. 

the  morning,  perhaps  to  various  parts  of  the  town  or  village  where  we  were 
halting,  selling  books  and  tracts,  or  reading  portions  from  them  to  the  ever-ready 
listeners.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark  we  would  take  my  sciopticon,  screen,  and 
poles,  lead  mallet,  iron  pins,  and  guy  ropes,  tripod  and  folding  chair,  myself 
always  carrying  the  two  boxes  of  slides  wrapped  up  in  the  white  screen,  lest  a 
snake  or  a  sudden  thorn  in  a  bare  foot  should  cause  them  to  be  dropped  and 
ruined.  I  soon  trained  three  of  the  helpers  so  they  could  put  the  jointed  screen 
poles  together,  snap  on  the  guy  ropes  and  screen,  drive  in  the  pegs  and  strain  up 
the  ropes,  with  the  edge  of  the  curtain  to  the  wind  and  moon,  while  I  would 
mount  the  sciopticon  box  on  its  (home-made)  tripod,  light  the  lantern  and 
arrange  my  slides.  The  other  helpers,  meanwhile,  would  take  my  two  pairs  of 
cymbals  and  go  off  to  collect  the  villagers  by  their  singing  some  sprightly  lyric. 
At  such  times  I  would  long  for  a  good,  ringing  cornet,  which  would  fetch  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  within  sound  of  its  call. 


On  the  Hills  and  Plains  of  India. 


Tr 


The  Tamil  people  are  very  fond  of  music,  a  fact  of  which  we  take  all  the 
advantage  we  can.  The  scenes  from  the  life  and  teachings  of  Christ  were 
assigned  beforehand  to  the  different  men  and  they  were  compelled  to  be  brief, 
accurate,  and  to  the  point,  or  the  light  would  be  suddenly  shut  off.  Often  a 
hymn  appropriate  to  the  picture  would  be  sung.     We  always  had  the  best  of 


THE   OLD    MISSION    CHAPEL    AT    KODEIKANAL. 


attention.  I  many  times  wished  that  the  donors  of  the  sciopticon  and  its  outfit 
could  come  and  sit  by  my  side  of  an  evening  to  enjoy  the  scenes  of  their  labors 
in  India  by  proxy.  The  realistic  way  in  which  the  catechists  would  tell  the  Bible 
stories,  putting  in  such  things  as  pertain  to  life  in  this  country  and  time,  would 
rather  startle  those  whose  thought  of  Jesus  is  always  in  Scriptural  form.  But  it 
is  effective  in  attracting  and  holding  people's  attention. 


AFRICAN  BOYS  IN  INDIA :  HOW  THEY  CAME  TO  US. 


BY    REV.    RICHARD    WINSOR,    OF    SIRUR,    WESTERN    INDIA. 


The  picture  on  the  next  page  presents  five  boys  out  of  a  number  of  African 
children  received  by  us  in  our  Industrial  School  at  Sirur,  Western  India.  Afri- 
can boys  in  a  school  in  India  !  you  will  exclaim.  How  came  they  there,  so  far 
from  their  homes?  It  is  a  wonderful  story.  You  may  know  that  the  British 
government  keeps  patrol-ships  along  the  Red  Sea  and  the  east  coast  of  Africa 
north  of  Zanzibar,  to  intercept  the  slave-trade  carried  on  by  Arabs  traversing 
those  waters.  A  cannon  shot  across  the  bow  of  a  slave-dhow  is  a  gentle  ad- 
monition not  to  go  too  fast,  and  if  this  be  not  heeded,  another  shot  a  little 
nearer  soon  follows,  and  a  friendly  call  from  the  English  officers  makes  a  gala 
day  for  the  slaves  who  are  confined  in  the  hold,  for  they  are  taken  on  board  the 
British  ship  and  most  kindly  cared  for.  The  Arabs,  too,  are  taken,  and  their 
dhows  forthwith  reach  land  without  sailing  for  the  shore.  They  go  down 
perpendicularly. 

Such  was  the  case  at  the  end  of  the  year  T885,  when  Her  Majesty's  ship 
Osprey  made  a  pleasant  capture  and  took  on  board  a  large  number  of  slaves, 
among  whom  were  many  children.  The  whole  were  taken  to  Muscat,  and  by 
the  Briiish  Resident  there  were  set  free,  the  children  being  sent  by  the  govern- 
ment to  Bombay.  Lord  Reay,  the  governor  of  Bombay,  wrote  us  a  letter  asking 
whether  we  could  take  these  slave-children  into  our  mission  Industrial  School  at 
Sirur,  giving  them  such  practical  training  as  should  fit  them  for  their  future  and 
make  them  useful  citizens.  As  the  school  is  under  my  care,  it  fell  to  me  to 
respond,  and  I  replied  that  my  former  relations  to  the  slave,  which  I  have  not 
room  here  to  describe,  gave  me  some  reason  for  thinking  that  I  could  take  care 
of  them,  and  I  consented  to  do  so.  I  went  to  Bombay  to  receive  them  from 
the  government,  taking  with  me  one  of  Mrs.  Winsor's  Bible- women  and  her  son, 
who  was  a  teacher ;  the  former  to  have  care  of  the  girls  on  the  way,  and  the 
latter  to  have  charge  of  the  boys.  There  were  two  days'  journey  by  cart  after 
reaching  Poona  by  rail. 

On  our  arrival  at  Poona  from  Bombay,  Miss  Bernard  very  kindly  gave  us 
quarters  for  the  night,  and  everything  was  done  to  make  these  poor  children  just 
from  the  wilds  of  Africa  feel  that  they  were  among  friends.  All  that  we  could 
do  was  to  express  ourselves  by  signs,  as  they  could  not  understand  a  word  of 
our  language  nor  we  of  theirs.     In  every  way  possible  we  tried  to  make  them 

176 


\frican  Boys  in  India. 


177 


feel  at  ease,  yet  all  the  while  there  seemed  to  be  something  like  a  dark  cloud 
hanging  over  them.     After  the  two  days'  travel  by  cart  to  Sirur,  they  resu  hed  oui 

home   on  a  Saturday  evening.     We  provided  them  food,  adding  a  few  sweets 
such  as  we  thought   would  cheer  them  ;  but  as  I  looked   into   the  faces  of  the 


children  there  were  the  silent  tears  one  by  one  pouring  down  in  quick  succes- 
sion, and  every  effort  to  console  seemed  to  add  o  their  sadness.  Why  is  this? 
we  ask  ourselves  ;  for  not  a  word  could  they  or  we  utter  by  which  we  could 
communicate  our  ideas.     We  shall  presently  see. 

On  Sunday  they  were  taken  into  the  Sabbath-school,  and  on  Monday  into  the 
day-school,  where  they  saw  little  boys  and  girls  with  books  in  their  hands,  bright, 


178  African  Boys  in  India. 

happy  children.  This  was  a  new  world  to  these  poor  Africans,  and  then  it 
began  to  dawn  upon  them  that  they  were  among  friends.  They  began  at  once 
to  study  the  native  language  of  our  part  of  India  —  the  Marathi,  and  in  a  few 
months  began  to  write  and  speak,  and  to  communicate  their  thoughts  in  Marathi. 
Then  it  was  that  we  learned  the  secret  of  the  sadness  of  those  two  days  of 
travel,  and  of  that  tearful  Saturday  evening ;  for  as  they  now  began  to  pour  out 
their  hearts  freely  to  us  they  said  that  at  that  time  they  supposed  all  the  good 
things  given  them  to  eat  were  simply  to  prepare  them  to  be  eaten  ;  and  the 
sweets  of  that  eventful  evening  they  thought  were  to  sweeten  them  for  the 
bountiful  repast  upon  their  own  flesh  which  we  were  soon  to  make  ! 

The  government,  paying  for  the  board  and  clothes  of  these  lads,  stipulated 
that  when  they  reached  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  provided  they  had  received 
four  years'  instruction,  they  should  then  provide  for  themselves.  These  five 
boys  whose  picture  is  before  you  have  recently  completed  their  four  years'  train- 
ing, and  being,  as  was  supposed,  seventeen  years  of  age,  they  were  to  launch 
out  for  themselves.  It  devolved  upon  me  to  obtain  places  for  them.  Their 
names  as  arranged  in  the  picture  are  (1)  Muboork  Tashier ;  (2)  Sungaroo 
Dema;  (3)   Suade  Moosa;   (4)   Boie  Sulieman ;   (5)   Mochera. 

The  total  number  of  children  received  was  twenty-nine,  representing  the  four 
following  tribes  —  Mihyar,  Miassa,  Makua,  and  Maguandi.  Of  the  twenty-nine 
only  these  five  boys  have  completed  their  allotted  amount  of  common-school  and 
industrial  training ;  year  by  year  they  passed  most  creditable  examinations,  both 
in  the  Industrial  School  and  also  in  the  Marathi  language  ;  the  Industrial  School 
examinations  being  conducted  by  Professor  Scorgie,  of  the  College  of  Science 
of  Poona,  and  the  Marathi  by  Mr.  Bulwant  Nene,  of  the  educational  depart- 
ment. In  deportment  these  boys  surpassed  what  is  generally  considered  fair 
conduct.  They  also,  besides  learning  to  read,  write,  and  speak  the  Marathi 
language,  learned  a  little  English,  at  the  same  time  keeping  up  their  own  African 
language,  in  which  there  was  deep  pathos  when  they  would  sing  their  simple 
native  airs. 

But  the  question  now  came  to  be,  Where  shall  they  go  ?  Looking  forward  to 
this,  which  would  be  an  eventful  day  for  them,  I  wrote  to  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Imperial  East  Africa  Company,  giving  their  history,  and  asking  that  they 
be  employed  in  the  service  of  that  company  in  Africa.  Afterwards  I  met  in 
Bombay  the  gentleman  from  Mombasa  to  whom  I  wrote,  and  who  asked  me, 
"Can  I  trust  them?"  I  answered,  "Yes,  sir.  If  you  will  put  them  under 
right  supervision,  you  will  have  valuable  men."  To  make  my  story  no  longer,  I 
will  only  say  the  boys  were  accepted  and  came  down  to  Bombay  with  us  in  April 
last,  as  we  were  about  to  sail  for  America;  they  to  go  to  Mombasa  in  Africa. 
These  boys  were  very  diligent  in  their  inquiries  as  to  the  Christian  religion,  and 
really  seemed  to  receive  the  truth  as  fast  as  they  understood  it.  They  sought  to 
be  baptized,  and  farther  on  to  be  admitted  to  church-fellowship,  and  when 
before  the  church  for  examination  there  was  much  joy  in  accepting  them. 
When  they  went  into  the  service  of  the  Imperial  East  Africa  Company  I  said  to 
the  director,  "  I  wish  it  distinctly  understood  that  these  boys  go  to  Africa  as 
Christian  carpenters"     What  a  vastly  better  way  to  train  up  our  schoolboys,  as 


African  Boys  in  India. 


179 


is  done  in  our  Deccan  institution  at  Sirur,  than  to  keep  them  under  su<  h  train- 
ing as  has  been  common  for  centuries  back,  such  as  is  indicated  in  the  picture 
given  below  of  one  of  the  native  pial  schools  ! 


I  could  say  much  in  recounting  the  remarkable  providences  that  have  been 
leading  all  these  movements ;  but  I  hope  I  have  said  enough  to  lead  many  who 
read  this  simple,  but  remarkable  story  to  remember  to  pray  devoutly  for  these 
boys  now  in  Africa,  for  the  children  yet  with  us  at  Sirur,  and  for  our  Industrial 
School,  that  it  may  be  an  efficient  arm  of  our  mission  work. 


WALKESHWAR,    BOMBAY. 

BY  REV.  EDWARD  S.  HUME,  OF  BOMBAY. 


From  the  southwest  shore  of  the  island  of  Bombay  a  long,  rocky  promontory 
runs  out  into  the  sea.  This  neck  of  land  is  called  Malabar  Hill,  and  its  extreme 
end  Malabar  Point.  This  is  the  most  beautiful  and  healthy  part  of  Bombay.  It 
is  covered  with  fine  residences  occupied  chiefly  by  Europeans.  The  Point  is  the 
place  where  the  Governor  of  Bombay  lives  for  about  five  months  of  the  year. 

The  very  spot  where  Government  House  now  stands  is  said  to  have  been, 
long,  long  ago,  the  site  of  a  much-frequented  temple  of  the  famous  idol  Maha 
DeVa,  who  is  worshiped  all  over  India.  There  is  a  tradition  that  Rama,  on  his 
journey  to  Ceylon,  in  search  of  his  wife  Sita,  found  himself  in  this  vicinity  and 
in  company  with  some  devout  followers  went  to  the  temple  to  worship  Maha 
DeVa.  While  here  he  asked  for  a  drink  of  water,  and  was  told  that  there  was  no 
drinking  water  in  the  vicinity.  Being  greatly  distressed  with  thirst,  Rama  fired 
an  arrow,  and  from  the  spot  where  the  arrow  struck  a  stream  of  fresh  water  im- 
mediately gushed  out,  which  ever  since  then  has  been  flowing.  In  honor  of  this 
miraculous  occurrence,  Maha  Deva  decided  to  remove  his  shrine  to  the  spot  where 
the  wonderful  arrow  had  fallen.  So  the  temple  was  moved  and  has  ever  since 
covered  the  sacred  spring,  which  is  said  to  have  direct  connection  underground 
with  the  sacred  river  Ganges.  How  this  can  be  possible,  since  that  river  at  the 
nearest  point  is  more  than  700  miles  distant,  it  is  hardly  safe  to  inquire. 

Beside  this  new  temple  of  Maha  Deva  a  large  tank  has  been  built.  Like  other 
sacred  tanks,  it  is  filled  with  water  which  is  fairly  green  with  filth  and  is  often 
very-  offensive.  Some  years  ago  the  municipality  had  the  water  all  pumped  out, 
and  an  outlet  made  through  which  the  water  may  be  drawn  off  every  rainy  season 
from  the  tank  down  to  the  sea.  The  tank,  however,  remains  as  offensive  as  ever. 
On  its  western  side  there  is  a  small  cleft  in  the  rock  from  which  the  water  of  the 
sacred  spring  flows.  This  foul  water  is  supposed  to  be  so  efficacious  in  washing 
away  the  stains  of  sin  that  tens  of  thousands  annually  visit  the  spot  in  order  to 
bathe  in  it,  and  by  it  to  be  cleansed. 

Another  tradition  is  that  Shivaji,  the  founder  of  the  Mahratta  kingdom,  who 
died  in  1680,  once  visited  Bombay  in  disguise  for  the  express  purpose  of  bath- 
ing at  this  spot.  The  tradition  is  probably  true,  for  Shivaji  was  a  very  supersti- 
tious man,  who  lost  no  opportunity  for  gaining  all  the  merit  ever  promised 
by  such  religious  exercises.  When  princes  or  other  great  personages  visit  the 
place,  an  awning  and  screen  are  built  out  into  the  tank,  so  that  they  may  bathe 
without  any  inconvenience  from  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  without  being  watched 
by  the  crowds  who  gather  at  such  times. 

Around  this  temple  and  tank  a  village  must  have  centred  hundreds  of  years 

180 


Walktshwar,  Bombay, 


i  Si 


ago.  It  is  this  village,  which  has  now  become  a  part  of  Bombay,  that  is  called 
Walklshwar.  In  addition  to  the  temple  already  mentioned,  many  other  small 
temples  and  shrines  have  been  built,  some  of  them  sacred  to  other  deities  than 
Maha  Deva.  There  are  also  many  houses  built  to  a<  commodate  the  priests  who 
officiate  at  the  temples,  as  well  as  those  who  come  from  a  distance  to  worship 
when  the  great  festivals  are  being  celebrated.  Some  of  these  houses  belong  to 
wealthy  Hindus  in  Bombay,  who  when  ill,  or  after  they  have  grown  to  be  old  and 
infirm,  spend  much  time  there,  in  order  that  they  may  enjoy  without  much 
exertion  what  they  regard  as  the  invaluable  religious  privileges  of  the  place. 


HINDU    TEMPLE    AT    WALKESHWAR,    BOMBAY. 

In  the  centre  of  the  picture  above  may  be  seen  two  slender  towers.  They 
are  built  for  the  purpose  of  illumination.  The  tiers  of  projections,  as  well  as  the 
little  holes  which  are  made  at  intervals  all  the  way  to  the  top,  are  niches  to 
hold  small  oil  lamps.  A  few  of  these  lamps  are  lighted  every  night,  but  on  spe- 
cial occasions  they  are  all  lighted  and  the  place  is  brilliantly  illuminated. 
Between  these  two  towers  are  steps  leading  down  to  the  tank  which  lies  below 
and  to  the  right,  but  is  not  visible  in  this  picture.  Between  and  beyond  the 
lamp-towers  is  the  temple  of  Maha  Deva.  To  the  left  are  two  of  the  houses 
which  have  been  mentioned.  In  the  foreground  at  the  right  there  is  a  low  wall 
partly  enclosing  a  small  space.  Places  like  this,  of  which  there  are  many  about 
the  tank,  are  for  the  most  part  occupied  by  ascetics  who  live  here  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  time.  Most  of  these  ascetics  remain  naked,  except  that  a  small  cloth 
is  tied  about  the  loins.  They  are  besmeared  with  ashes  from  head  to  foot; 
their  hair  is  long  and  unkempt,  and  altogether  they  are  as  miserable  and  dis- 
gusting in  appearance  as  human  beings  can  possibly  make  themselves. 


182 


WalkfcJiwar,  Bombay. 


The  rules  for  obtaining  merit  are  very  arbitrary.  The  most  difficult  are  not 
necessarily  the  most  meritorious.  One  of  their  sacred  books  says  :  "  If  the  ascetic 
who  understands  the  Creator,  who  chooses  the  good  and  eschews  the  bad,  con- 
tinued his  manner  of  life  during  one  thousand  years,  his  reward  would  not  be 
equal  to  that  of  a  man  who  gives  alms  on  a  holy  day  and  fulfils  the  duties  of 
the  day,  that  is,  washing  and  anointing  himself  saying  prayers  and  praises." 

In  consequence  of  such  a  belief  these  sacred  places  are  thronged  on  festival 
occasions  by  crowds  who  are  taught  to  believe  that  bathing  in  the  tank,  giving 
alms  to  the  ascetics  and  the  beggars  who  are  always  out  in  force  on  such  days, 
and  offerings  to  the  idols  at  these  times,  are  of  very  great  value  in  acquiring  hap- 
piness for  the  world  to  come.  It  is  also  important  to  remember  that  merit,  ob- 
tained both  by  such  almsgiving  and  by  ascetic  practices,  is  not  at  all  dependent 
upon  good  conduct.  Merit  may  be  gained  by  a  bad  man  as  well  as  by  a  good 
man.  In  fact,  such  a  man  often  hopes  to  counterbalance  his  ill-deserts  for  a 
wicked  life  by  special  efforts  to  obtain  artificial  merit. 

The  ascetics  who  are  to  be  found  at  Walkdshwar  generally  remain  for  a  num- 
ber of  weeks  or  months,  and  then  move  on  to  some  other  similar  place.  The 
Brahmans,  who  are  attached  to  the  temples,  remain  permanently.  On  the  open 
verandas  of  the  houses,  like  the  farther  one  in  the  picture,  and  around  all  the 
temples,  may  be  seen  scores  of  these  fat,  greasy,  and  sensual-looking  priests,  whose 
duties  are  evidently  light,  while  their  perquisites  are  large.  It  is  exceedingly 
interesting  to  enter  into  conversation  with  the  various  persons  whom  one  meets 
at  such  a  place.  The  great  majority  seem  perfectly  self-satisfied.  Many  of  them 
have  performed  tedious,  disagreeable,  and  even  very  difficult  religious  exercises. 
No  money  would  induce  them  to  give  up  the  meritorious  benefits  which  they 
confidently  hope  to  enjoy  hereafter  as  the  reward  of  all  their  sufferings.  On  the 
other  hand,  some  may  occasionally  be  found  who  admit  that  all  these  perform- 
ances cannot  take  away  the  stains  of  sin  nor  satisfy  an  immortal  soul. 

The  picture  on  the  next  page  shows  us  the  entrance  to  one  of  the  numerous  little 
temples  at  Walkeshwar.  The  man  seated  on  the  left  is  the  priest  who  has 
charge  of  the  idol.  Hanging  to  the  right  of  the  door  above  the  other  man's 
head  may  be  seen  a  bell.  Each  time  a  worshiper  comes  to  worship  the  idol, 
or  when  any  religious  exercise  is  about  to  be  performed,  this  bell  is  rung  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  god.  Outside  of  and  facing  the  door  is  a  stone  figure  of  a 
bull.  This  is  an  invariable  accompaniment  of  the  idol  in  every  temple.  It  is 
supposed  to  be  the  guardian  of  the  god.  Although  the  idol  cannot  be  seen,  it 
must  be  directly  opposite  the  door,  for  its  position  may  always  be  known  by 
observing  the  bull  outside,  which  is  placed  so  as  to  face  the  idol. 

This  picture  gives  a  fair  specimen  of  a  Hindu  temple,  not  built  to  accommodate 
large  congregations,  but  a  shrine  for  the  idol.  The  worshipers  come  singly  or 
in  small  groups.  The  exercises  at  the  temple  consist  in  walking  around  it, 
making  offerings  to  the  priest,  and  in  prostrating  one's  self  before  the  idol.  It  is 
considered  a  work  of  great  merit  to  build  a  temple,  and  of  course  the  more 
temples  one  builds  the  greater  the  merit.  Repairing,  enlarging,  or  improving 
one  built  by  another  is  not  very  popular,  as  the  merit  for  such  work  goes  to  the 
original  builder,  and  not  to  the  man  who  makes  the  later  additions. 


Wa/kis/iwar,  Bombay, 


[8 


The  day  for  temple-building  in  Endia  is  past.  Some  are,  of  course,  being 
erected  all  the  time,  but  they  are  not  to  be  compared  with  many  which  were  built 
Ion-  years  ago,  and  which  still  inspire  wonder.  At  the  same  tunc  very  many 
temples  and  shrines  once  famous  are  now  neglected  and  are  falling  to  pi 


A    TEMPLE    DOOR    AND     PRIEST    AT    WALKESHWAR. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  one  potent  cause  for  this  state  of  things  is  that 
many  of  the  followers  of  Maha  Deva  and  of  other  Hindu  deities  have  transferred 
their  allegiance  to  Tesus  Christ.  "  He  must  increase,  and  they  must  decrease. 
Fewer  temples  may  be  built,  but  more  and  more  churches  —  in  which  his  disci- 
ples are  ever  praying,  "Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth  as  it 
is  in  heaven"  — are  annually  being  erected  for  the  worship  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 


NARAYAN,  A   BRAHMAN    BOY. 


BY    REV.   JAMES    SMITH,    OF    AHMEDNAGAR,    INDIA. 


Narayan  is  the  name  of  a  young  man  who  as  a  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  years  was 
brought  to  a  missionary  in  Ahmednagar  some  sixteen  years  ago.  He  was  a  very 
small  boy  for  his  years,  looked  half  starved,  which  he  really  was,  and  was  half 
clad  in  dirty  cotton  rags.  He  was  begging  for  money  to  buy  food,  not  for  food 
itself,  for  he  was  a  Brahman,  and  dare  not,  therefore,  eat  anything  that  had  been 
touched  by  any  one  but  a  Brahman.  The  missionary  was  new  to  India,  and 
could  understand  little  of  his  story,  but  gave  him  a  few  cents  and  asked  him  to 
come  again.  And  come  again  he  did.  After  the  third  or  fourth  visit  he  was 
given  a  clean  suit  of  clothes,  for  which  his  large  dark  eyes  looked  the  gratitude 
he  felt. 

For  some  months  after  this,  Narayan  did  not  return  to  the  mission  house,  and 
all  efforts  to  find  his  whereabouts  were  unsuccessful.  One  day,  however,  when 
all  hope  of  seeing  him  again  had  nearly  failed,  he  returned,  but  could  not  be 
induced  to  enter  the  house,  though  he  was  not  averse  to  talking  about  where  he 
had  been  and  other  matters.  During  the  conversation,  lest  he  should  be  thought 
ungrateful,  he  explained  that  his  relations  had  inquired  where  he  had  got  his  new 
clothes,  and  had  told  him  if  he  ever  went  to  see  the  missionary  again  they  would 
"break  his  legs."  They  had  also  told  him  that  if  he  went  inside  the  mission 
house  the  missionary  would  "  catch  him  and  make  him  a  Christian."  He 
admitted  that  he  was  afraid  of  being  made  a  Christian,  though  he  did  not  know 
what  that  meant,  and  he  did  not  want,  in  any  case,  to  disobey  his  relatives. 

These  relatives  were  propitiated,  however,  by  the  missionary's  paying  Narayan's 
tuition  fees  at  an  English  school  in  the  town,  and  for  a  year  all  went  well. 
Narayan  made  rapid  progress  in  English,  and  two  or  three  times  a  week  made 
visits  to  the  mission  house,  sometimes  to  get  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  his 
lessons,  sometimes  to  pay  a  friendly  visit.  All  this  while,  however,  though  his 
clothes  were  more  respectable  than  they  had  been  before,  Narayan's  eyes  were 
sunken,  his  chest  flat,  and  his  neck  so  small  that  it  could  almost  be  spanned  by 
a  hand.  He  made  his  home  with  his  widowed  mother  at  his  uncle's  house. 
This  uncle  was  an  officiating  Brahman  priest,  whose  income  was  not  large  enough 
for  his  own  family,  and  hence  Narayan  and  his  mother  were  very  unwelcome 
guests.  Narayan  became  more  and  more  obnoxious  to  this  uncle  as  his  intelli- 
gence began  to  expand  under  the  influence  of  the  school  and  frequent  visits  to 
the  mission  house.  One  night  Narayan  was  almost  expelled  from  his  home  for 
asking  questions  about  some  Hindu  legends  which  his  uncle  was  reading  with 

great  solemnity  to  the  family.     When  he  read  of  the  rakshas  (giant)  who  "  swal- 

184 


Narayan,  a  Brahman  Boy. 


[8? 


lowed  the  world  at  one  gulp,"  Narayan  asked  what  the  rakshaa  stood  upon  after 
he  had  swallowed  it  !  The  next  morning  he  naively  told  the  missionary  about 
the  "  conundrum  "  he  had  proposed,  and  his  narrow  escape  from  expulsion,  and 
was  advised  not  to  ask  his  uncle  any  more  hard  questions.  One  day  Narayan 
proposed  that  the  missionary  should  open  an  English  school,  and  after  much 


prayerful  consideration  and  months  of  planning,  the  school  was  opened  to  bring 
the  missionary  into  closer  contact  with  Narayan  and  others  like  him.  This  is  the 
school  shown  in  the  illustration  on  a  following  page,  in  which  nearly  ioo  Christian 
boys  and  more  than  200  Hindus,  Mohammedans,  and  others  are  now  receiving 


j  35  Narayan,  a  Brahman  Boy. 

a  Christian  education.  Narayan  attended  the  school  for  three  or  four  years,  and 
though  not  a  brilliant  student,  won  the  love  of  all  his  teachers  and  fellow  pupils 
by  his  gentle  ways  and  the  earnestness  with  which  he  prepared  his  daily  tasks. 

When  Narayan's  aunt  became  ill  his  distress  was  most  painful.  He  nursed 
her  with  the  greatest  solicitude,  got  medicines  from  a  European  doctor  for  her, 
and  administered  them  himself  whenever  he  was  allowed  by  her  ignorant  friends 
to  do  so.  When  they  were  convinced  that  there  was  no  hope  of  her  recovery, 
they  allowed  him  to  bring  the  doctor  to  see  her,  and  even  then  her  life  and  the 
life  of  her  little  babe  might  have  been  saved  had  the  doctor's  directions  been 
followed.  Narayan's  entreaties  were  of  no  use.  Charms  and  incantations  were 
again  resorted  to,  and  the  doctor's  medicines  were  laid  on  the  shelf  and  his 
directions  treated  with  contempt.  The  morning  after  his  aunt's  death  Narayan 
came  to  the  mission  house  in  great  dejection.  He  told  of  'his  efforts,  his  en- 
treaties, his  watchings  and  nursings,  and  how  all  had  been  frustrated  by  ignorance 
and  superstition.  And,  worst  of  all,  his  uncle  had  already  gone  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  in  search  of  another  wife  !  It  may  be  added  that  before  noon 
he  was  betrothed,  and  the  wedding  took  place  a  few  days  later  ! 

Narayan  and  his  mother  were  now  turned  out  of  doors.  The  relation  that  had 
bound  him  to  this  uncle  had  been  dissolved  by  the  death  of  his  mother's  sister. 
The  uncle  had  a  new  wife  to  support,  and  could  not  afford  to  support  utter 
strangers.  The  missionary  would  have  found  the  means  to  support  Narayan  a 
short  time  longer  in  school,  but  his  mother  had  to  be  provided  for,  and  Narayan 
himself  had  been  married  many  years  before  to  a  little  girl,  and  her  parents  were 
clamoring  for  Narayan  to  support  her.  He  was  now  seventeen  or  eighteen  years 
old,  and  had  passed  an  examination  for  a  teacher's  certificate,  so  with  his  still 
more  valuable  certificate  of  "  exemplary  conduct  "  he  soon  found  employment  in 
a  mission  school  as  a  teacher. 

Several  years  have  passed  since  Narayan  was  obliged  to  leave  school,  and  he 
has  put  his  heart  into  his  profession  as  few  teachers  do,  but  he  has  not  given  up 
his  studies.  He  writes  and  speaks  English  with  remarkable  fluency  and  correct- 
ness, but  his  main  study  is  still  the  Bible.  During  the  years  that  he  attended  the 
mission  school  he  became  deeply  interested  in  the  Bible,  and  especially  in  the 
life  of  Christ.  The  life  and  teachings  of  Christ  still  continue  to  be  his  main 
subjects  of  study.  He  has  a  large  circle  of  friends,  too,  whom  he  has  interested 
in  the  same  story.  They  all  believe  that  Christ  is  the  only  Saviour,  while  Nara- 
yan openly  confesses  that  He  is  his  Saviour.  He  makes  no  secret  of  his  faith, 
but  publicly  in  large  assemblies,  and  privately  among  his  more  intimate  friends, 
declares  his  faith  in  Christ.  With  these  friends  he  often  visits  the  houses  of 
missionaries  and  discusses  with  them  his  trials  and  conflicts  until  midnight,  and 
never  goes  home  without  asking  the  missionary  to  pray  with  him  and  for  him, 
after  which  he  always  prays  himself  —  a  Christian's  earnest  prayer  in  the  name 
of  Jesus. 

Narayan's  sorrows  are  all  due  to  his  mother,  who  is  a  superstitious  old  woman, 
but  to  whom  he  is  passionately  devoted.  He  ever  mentions  her  with  the  tender- 
est  regard,  and  he  would  rather  suffer  any  sorrow  on  earth  than  allow  her  to 
suffer  the  slightest  pain.  When  he  speaks  of  Christ  she  puts  her  fingers  in  her 
ears  and   refuses  to  hear  a  single  word.     He  has  exhausted  every  art  in   his 


Narayan,  a  Brahman  Boy. 


i*7 


endeavor  to  get  a  hearing  for  the  "  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  his  love,"  but  in 
vain.  For  Narayan  to  be  baptized  would  be  to  drive  Ins  mother  to  commit 
suicide.  She  has  threatened  to  do  so  several  times,  and  he  says  Jesus  would  not 
have  him  be  unkind  to  his  mother.     He  was  kind  to  his  mother.     He  was  kind  and 


loving  to  all  and  would  have  us  i\o  like  him.  He  says,  "  I  am  not  happy  now. 
I  cannot  be  happy  as  I  am,  but  I  am  willing  to  suffer  anything  for  my  poor 
mother.  When  she  is  gone  and  I  can  do  nothing  for  her,  then  I  shall  be 
baptized.     Then  my  sorrow  will  be  at  an  end." 

Will  my  young  readers  pray  that  Narayan  may  be  faithful  unto  death? 


THE   PARSIS. 


Malabar  Hill  in  Bombay,  India,  an  elevated  point  of  land  making  out  into 
the  sea,  affords  one  of  the  most  charming  views  that  can  anywhere  be  found. 
On  the  top  of  this  hill,  made  specially  beautiful  by  gardens,  may  be  seen  a  strange 
building  called  "The  Towers  of  Silence,"  a  bird's-eye  view  of  which  appears  on 
the  following  page.  The  walls  of  the  building  are  of  granite,  about  twenty-five 
feet  high,  and  the  huge  structure  has  no  windows  and  but  one  small  door.  As 
you  will  see,  it  is  open  to  the  sky.  It  is  the  place  to  which  the  Parsis  bring  the 
dead  bodies  of  their  friends  and  there  leave  them. 

And  who  are  the  Parsis  ?  They  are  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  fire-wor- 
shipers of  Persia  who  fled  to  India  about  the  year  720  a.d.,  when  their  country 
was  conquered  by  the  Mohammedan  Arabs.  They  form  a  distinct  though  not 
very  numerous  class  of  people.  By  the  last  census  there  were  85,000  of  them 
in  India,  73,000  of  whom  were  living  within  the  Bombay  Presidency.  They  are 
an  intelligent  and  well-to-do  class,  much  in  advance  of  the  Hindus  about  them. 
They  are  fire-worshipers,  though  one  of  their  members  claims,  "  We  do  not 
worship  the  fire  or  the  sun  ;  we  worship  Him  of  whom  they  are  the  type."  But 
another  Parsi  says  that  in  his  childhood  he  did  worship  the  sun,  and  that  should 
one  watch  the  Parsis  of  Bombay  at  sunset  he  would  see  them  bowing  down  to  it, 
and  would  feel  sure  they  were  worshiping  the  sun. 

Their  sacred  book  is  the  Zend  Avesta  and  their  prophet  is  Zoroaster,  who  is 
supposed  to  have  been  born  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  Parsis  are  money-getters 
preeminently  ;  they  are  engaged  largely  in  trade,  and  many  of  them  are  success- 
ful and  rich.  Of  the  Zend  Avesta,  Sir  Monier  Williams  says  :  "  It  is  a  jumble  of 
a  few  sublime  thoughts  mixed  up  with  an  overwhelming  mass  of  superstitious 
ideas  expressed  in  the  most  obscure  and  corrupt  form  of  language." 

Among  the  singular  customs  prevalent  among  these  people  one  concerns  their 
very  birth.  A  Parsi  must  be  born  on  the  ground  floor  of  a  house,  since  he  ought 
to  commence  life  in  humility  and  advance  upward  as  he  grows  older.  They  are 
greatly  given  to  ablutions,  chiefly  with  the  idea  of  keeping  off  the  evil  spirits. 
At  the  age  of  seven  years  a  young  Parsi  is  subjected  to  a  religious  ceremony, 
during  which  he  is  bound  with  a  cord  or  girdle,  made  up  of  seventy-two  threads, 
after  which  he  is  supposed  to  be  morally  accountable.  One  noticeable  point, 
quite  contrary  to  the  practice  of  all  other  classes  in  India,  is  the  custom  among 
the  Parsis  of  permitting  the  girls  to  go  through  the  same  ceremonies,  and  to 
visit  the  temples  and  recite  the  same  prayers  as  do  the  boys.  They  are  said  to 
be  the  only  class  of  people  in  the  world  who  do  not  use,  in  one  form  or  another, 


The  Pd> sis. 


189 


190 


The  Parsis. 


tobaoco;  or  some  similar  noxious  weed.     This  does  not  appear  to  be  from  any 
high  principle,  but  chiefly  on  account  of  cleanliness. 

The  Parsis  are  much  given  to  feasting,  their  feast  days  being  numerous  and 
marked  by  much  eating  and  merrymaking.  The  religious  ceremonies  which 
accompany  these  feasts  have  been  thus  described :  "  A  number  of  priests 
assemble  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  a  fire  temple,  bringing  a  portable  fire  vessel 
which  is  placed  on  the  ground,  with  offerings  of  fruit,  flowers,  and  wine.  Two 
priests  attend  to  the  sacred  fire,  while  the  others  sit  around  and  repeat  prayers, 
praises,  and  thanksgivings  conjointly.  Laymen  also  attend,  but  each  repeats  his 
own  prayers  separately.     The  fruit  and  wine  are  then  shared  by  all  present." 

The  most  peculiar  of  the  Parsi  customs  are  those  connected  with  the  disposi- 
tion of  their  dead.  At  the  time  of  death  the  hands  and  feet  are  tied,  and  the 
body  dressed  in  white  clothes.  A  dog  is  then  brought  in,  which  by  his  keen  scent 
is  supposed  to  be  able  to  detect  and  drive  away  evil  spirits.  Priests  in  attend- 
ance are  praying  for  the  soul  of  the  departed.  Inasmuch  as  no  Parsi  may  touch 
a  dead  body,  attendants  deliver  it  to  four  pall-bearers,  who  are  dressed  in  spotless 
white.  A  procession  of  priests  and  relatives  then  moves  toward  the  Towers  of 
Silence.  After  ceremonies  and  prayers  before  the  door,  the  bearers  alone  enter, 
laying  the  corpse  upon  the  stone  floor,  and  then  retire.  All  round  the  place  may 
be  seen  at  any  time  a  swarm  of  vultures,  watching  their  opportunity,  and  the 
moment  the  bearers  have  withdrawn,  these  vultures  swoop  down  upon  the  dead 
body,  and  in  a  few  moments  nothing  is  left  but  the  bones,  clean  and  bare.  The 
Parsis  deem  this  method  of  disposing  of  their  dead,  so  hideous  to  us,  as  prefer- 
able to  burial  in  the  ground. 

The  Parsi  priests  are  very  illiterate,  not  understanding  the  prayers  they  say  or 
the  portions  of  their  sacred  book  which  they  repeat.  But  these  people  are 
becoming  much  more  intelligent  through  their  contact  with  the  English.  Only 
a  few  of  them  have  become  Christians.  Yet  one  of  them  who  did  become  a 
Christian  said  not  long  since  :  "  As  a  Parsi  I  gave  alms,  I  burned  sandalwood,  I 
said  prayers,  I  attended  ceremonies,  but  I  had  no  peace  in  my  heart.  But  from 
the  hour  I  gave  myself  to  Christ  I  have  been  full  of  joy,  and  my  joy  grows  greater 
every  day."  The  chief  reason  why  so  few  of  them  have  accepted  Christ,  doubt- 
less, is  the  fact  that  they  dread  the  persecution  which  would  surely  follow.  One 
of  them  said  to  a  missionary,  "  It  would  be  a  matter  of  leaving  my  people.  My 
parents  are  old  :  my  father  is  favorable  to  Christianity  but  my  poor  mother  hates 
it,  and  it  would  grieve  me  to  go  against  their  wishes.  But  I  do  love  Jesus  very 
much,  and  I  mean  to  fight  under  his  banner  as  long  as  I  live."  "  But,"  said  the 
missionary,  "you  have  not  the  colors  or  the  armor  of  the  Captain  you  serve 
under.  How  will  the  world  know  and  how  are  Christians  to  know  on  whose  side 
you  are?"     Doubtless  this  Parsi  knew  what  his  duty  was,  but  he  was  not  ready 

to  do  it. 

On  the  next  page  you  will  see  a  picture  of  a  Parsi  merchant,  a  fine-looking, 
intelligent  man  of  Bombay.  His  sadara,  or  sacred  shirt,  is  covered  by  his  long 
coat,  and  the  sacred  cord  is  not  visible,  but  he  doubtless  has  it  on.  His  head- 
dress is  peculiar,  and  its  fashion  is  unchangeable.  You  will  notice  that  the  cap 
has  no  rim  and  that  it  retreats  from  the  forehead  backward.  It  would  be 
deemed  disrespectful  for  this  man  to  take  off  his  cap  in  the  presence  of  an  equal 


The  Parsis. 


[9] 


or  a  superior.     Cotton  is  the  material  used  for  garments  by  the  common  cla 
but  the  rich  indulge  in  silks  and  more  costly  goods. 

Among  the  religious  precepts  of  the   Parsis  are  many  that  relate  to  benevo- 


A     PARSI     MERCHANT    OF     BOMBAY, 


lence,  and  they  are  very  liberal  among  their  own  people.  It  is  said  tnat  m  the 
city  of  Bombay  alone  they  have  no  less  than  thirty-two  different  charitable  insti- 
tutions. Many  of  their  prominent  men  have  been  quite  friendly  toward  our 
missionaries,  though  not  accepting  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 


SCENES  IN  JAFFNA,  CEYLON. 

BY   REV.    SAMUEL   W.    HOWLAND,    OF    JAFFNA. 


The  people  of  Jaffna,  Ceylon,  are  of  the  Tamil  race,  like  the  people  in  South 
India,  and  a  description  of  the  one  would  fit  the  other  in  most  respects.  They 
were  formerly  devil-worshipers  ;  but  idolatry,  introduced  by  the  Brahmans  from 

Northern  India  some  centuries  ago,  has 
become  the  religion  of  the  people,  except 
in  a  few  outlying  districts.  Many  combine 
the  two  forms  of  worship,  and  that,  too, 
very  easily,  for  the  gods  of  the  heathen 
do  not  differ  much  from  devils.  The 
trident  is  used  as  the  symbol  of  the  devil, 
and  is  often  seen  planted  before  a  devil- 
tree  or  a  rude  hut,  where  the  devil  is 
supposed  to  reside,  the  three  points  dec- 
orated with  gay  flowers. 

Persons  are  sometimes  thought  to  be 
seized  by  a  devil,  who  manifests  his 
presence  by  a  series  of  fits,  or  by  hysteria, 
or  even  genuine  deviltry.  After  the  evil 
one  has  been  driven  out  by  whips,  hot 
irons,  and  other  such  devices,  a  charm 
must  be  worn  to  make  him  keep  a  proper 
distance  in  the  future.  The  charm  con- 
sists of  various  cabalistic  characters  and 
diagrams  scratched  on  a  metal  scroll. 
Some  persons  give  their  time  to  the  serv- 
ice of  certain  devils,  and  are  frequently 
regarded  as  possessed.  Our  cut  represents 
a  woman  of  this  kind  with  trident  and 
drinking- vessel  in  hand,  and  charm  around 
the  neck,  while  she  is  fantastically  dec- 
orated with  strings  of  seeds,  bones,  palm-leaf  ornaments,  and  the  like.  The 
wilder  her  hair  the  better,  till  sometimes  it  is  almost  a  veritable  head  of  Medusa 
with  snaky  locks. 

One  of  these  women  recently  strayed  into  a  women's  meeting  in  Jaffna,  and 
when  she  heard  the  story  of  Jesus,  she  exclaimed  :  "  If  these  things  are  true, 
what  shall  I  do?"  All  her  supposed  sanctity  of  life  seemed  vain  in  the  presence 
of  such  teaching.     There  was  a  very  remarkable  instance  of  such  a  woman  in 


A    DEVIL-PRIESTESS. 


Scenes  in  Jaffna,  Ceylon. 


193 


North  India,  ac<  epting  Christ  and  then  going  all  over  the  country  attempting  to 

undo  the  harm  she  had  done. 

Our  next  cut  shows  a  native  house  in  Jaffna,  rather  poorer  than  the  average. 
The  roof  is  a  thatch  of  braided  cocoanut-leaves.  The  white  ants,  which  attack 
everything  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  that  is  not  living,  have  eaten  the  thatch  so 
that  it  leaks,  and  the  unthrifty  occupants  have  thrown  a  few  braided  leaves 
loosely  over  the  leaky  places.  The  wall  in  front  is  a  dilapidated  mud  wall,  a 
cubic  or  so  in  height,  while  the  wall  of  the  house  is  several  feet  farther  back, 
made  of  mud,  with  wooden  posts  in  the  corners  to  support  the  wall-plates. 
There  are  two  rooms,  each  with  a  door,  but  no  windows. 


NATIVE  HOUSE    IN    JAFFNA. 

The  rooms  are  not  to  live  in,  but  chiefly  to  keep  their  possessions  in,  such  as 
grain,  tobacco,  clothing,  jewelry,  etc.  The  space  in  front  partly  shut  in,  and 
divided  by  screens  of  braided  palm-leaf,  serves  for  the  sleeping-rooms.  The 
vermin  which  abound  in  hot  climates  are  kept  out  to  some  extent  by  a  weekly 
smearing  of  the  floor  with  diluted  cow-manure,  which  is  their  universal  purifier. 
The  heathen  consider  it  efficacious  for  purifying  from  sin,  and  rub  their  fore- 
heads and  breasts  with  ashes  made  from  it.  as  a  part  of  their  worship.  The  floor 
of  hard  earth  raised  several  inches  becomes  soft  in  the  rainy  season  when  the 
yard  is  full  of  water,  and  the  mats  of  braided  strips  of  palm-leaf,  which  are  their 
usual  beds,  do  not  protect  them  from  severe  colds  and  fevers.  Nor  is  there 
much  protection  from  the  venomous  serpents,  which  always  come  out  in  the 
dark,  and  are  the  cause  of  death  to  20,000  persons  in  India  yearly. 

The  woman  in  the  foreground  has  a  favorite  attitude  —  sitting  on  the  heels  and 
resting  the  arms  on  the  knees.    She  is  watching  the  pot  that  is  slow  to  boil.    The 


194 


Scenes  in  Jaffna,  Ceylon. 


engraver  has  omitted  the  range  under  the  pot,  consisting  of  three  stones  or  three 
cones  of  baked  earth.  They  usually  have  a  slight  roof  over  it  for  rainy  weather ; 
but  for  many  months  there  is  very  little  rain,  and  a  covering  is  then  entirely 
unnecessary.  Their  dexterity  in  using  their  simple  apparatus  is  quite  marvelous. 
The  man  of  the  house  has  gone  to  the  field,  carrying  his  one-handled  plow  and 
slender  yoke  on  his  shoulder.  After  helping  his  neighbors,  plowing  in  lines  of 
six  or  eight,  one  after  the  other,  like  Elisha  of  old,  he  will  come  in  for  his  dinner 
and  noon  rest  and  that  is  the  best  time  to  make  a  call  upon  him,  although  one 
needs  to  be  careful  about  going  in  the  sunshine,  for  the  vacuum  thermometer 
often  marks  1600  F.  in  the  sun. 


A  NATIVE  OX-CART. 

We  see  in  the  cut  the  mother-in-law,  the  real  head  of  the  house,  the  wife, 
a  widowed  sister,  and  three  children.  The  infant  is  carried  astride  the  hip.  The 
oldest  girl  is  ready  for  school,  where  she  will  sit  on  the  hard  earth  floor  and 
write  the  letters  with  her  forefinger  in  sand  sprinkled  before  her.  She  has  on 
her  neat  little  jacket,  with  the  corners  tied  together  in  front.  The  little  boy  is 
left  to  his  pleasure  as  to  clothing,  and  he  votes  it  a  nuisance.  His  mother 
agrees  with  him  as  he  rolls  around  in  the  dirt,  and  tumbles  over  the  pots,  and 
perhaps  into  the  dinner.  Soot  does  not  show  as  plainly  on  his  skin  as  it  would 
on  a  cloth.  He  certainly  is  very  successful  in  getting  everywhere  he  should  not. 
The  three  women  are  dressed  in  the  usual  strip  of  seven  yards  wrapped  around 
and  tucked  up  without  pin,  button,  or  any  other  fastening.  Sometimes  the 
husband  takes  his  wife's  fine  red  and  yellow  cloth  and  winds  it  into  a  turban  for 


Scenes  injaffna^  Ceylon. 


•95 


his  head  for  a  wedding  feast  or  some  such  extra  occasion,  and,  very  conveniently, 

the  men  go  on  different  days  from  the  women.     All  the  strange  customs  and 
doings  suggested  by  this  picture  would  take  days  to  describe. 

We  have  but  little  space  to  describe  our  ox-cart  on  the  preceding  page. 
These  white  oxen,  with  their  large  shoulder-humps  and  hanging  dewlaps,  are 
from  India.  The  Jaffna  cattle  are  miserable  specimens,  hardly  larger  than  a 
half-grown  calf,  owing  to  lack  of  care  and  food.  These  India  oxen  will  often 
make  good  time  on  the  excellent  macadamized  roads  of  Jaffna,  if  the  driver, 
sitting  between  them,  faithfully  digs  his  toes  into  their  ribs  and  twists  their  tails 
in  the  most  approved  manner.  On  occasion  he  even  applies  his  teeth  to  the 
tails.  The  Jaffna  carts  are  usually  larger  than  this,  and  with  a  netting  across 
the  middle  for  a  bed  will  accommodate  a  family  for  days  of  travel.     The  straw 


A    NATIVE   CATECHIST    ON    A   TOUR. 


for  the  oxen  is  in  rolls  over  the  top,  and  pots  and  pails  hang  underneath  and 
at  the  sides. 

Our  last  cut  shows  a  style  of  cart  becoming  quite  common,  called  a  "  hackery." 
The  little  ox  costs  perhaps  three  dollars,  and  the  cart  not  more  than  eight  or  ten 
dollars,  and  we  have  a  neat  little  turn-out  at  no  great  expense.  A  catechist  holds 
the  reins,  which  go  into  the  animal's  nose,  and  skilfully  balances  himself  and  his 
bag  of  books  on  his  rocking  perch.  Most  of  our  Jaffna  catechists  go  on  foot ; 
but  in  India,  where  long  distances  must  be  traversed,  such  a  conveyance  as  this 
enables  the  catechist  to  do  much  more  than  he  otherwise  could.  The  Word  of 
God,  in  Scripture  portions  or  as  explained  in  tracts,  is  the  most  powerful  means 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  this  catechist  could  tell  us  some  most  interesting 
incidents,  had  we  time  to  listen  to  him. 


NTHE   "TIGER'S  DEN"  IN   KASHMIR. 


In  the  great  province  of  the  Punjab,  India,  some  fifteen  hundred  miles  north- 
west of  Calcutta,  lies  the  city  of  Sialkot,  which  is  the  centre  of  missionary  work 
carried  on  by  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America.  The  city  is 
not  far  from  the  boundaries  of  Kashmir  and  the  Himalaya  Mountains.  The  pop- 
ulation is  about  one  half  Hindu  and  one  half  Moslem,  and  they  are  very  bigoted. 
Whoever  among  them  turns  to  the  Christian  faith  will  meet  the  bitterest  opposi- 
tion, as  the  following  story  will  clearly  show. 

It  was  in  the  year  1866  that  Kanaya,  the  son  of  the  headman  of  the  village 
of  Naya  Pind,  twenty-six  miles  from  Sialkot,  said  to  an  associate,  Bhajna,  who 
had  become  a  Christian  :  "  With  all  my  heart  and  soul,  brother,  I  am  with  you. 
Let  come  what  may,  I  will  go  with  you  and  be  a  Christian."  Kanaya  was  a  most 
affectionate  husband  and  father,  but  Ramdei,  his  wife,  though  loyal  to  her  hus- 
band, felt  that  it  was  a  deep  disgrace  to  have  her  husband  become  a  Christian. 
Their  parents  and  kindred,  and  indeed,  the  whole  village,  were  in  a  state  of 
great  excitement.  Some  of  them  began  with  entreaties  and  tears  to  beseech  the 
converts  to  turn  back  to  their  old  faith.  Others  were  more  violent,  and  throng- 
ing the  house  where  Bhajna  and  Kanaya  were,  shouted  :  "  Seize  them  ;  beat 
them  ;  beat  them  to  death  !  "  The  two  men,  escaping  from  the  angry  crowd,  sat 
down  to  read  some  of  the  words  of  Jesus.  "  A  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his 
own  household."  "  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me  is  not  worthy 
of  me  ;  and  he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me." 
"  Marvel  not,  my  brethren,  if  the  world  hate  you." 

Being  thus  obliged  to  leave  his  own  home,  Kanaya  sought  to  induce  his  wife 
to  bring  their  children,  whom  he  desired  to  teach  in  a  Christian  way,  and  live  with 
him ;  but  she  was  firm  in  her  unbelief,  and  her  relatives  and  the  villagers  sought 
to  make  the  children  hate  their  father.  These  villagers  of  Naya  Pind  made  a 
plot  to  kidnap  Kanaya  and  make  way  with  him,  and  for  three  long  months  he 
had  no  sight  of  his  wife  or  one  of  his  five  children. 

At  last  he  determined  to  enter  a  legal  suit  before  the  English  court  to  obtain 
possession  of  his  children.  Ramdei  made  no  objection  to  this,  and  the  summons 
was  served.  The  kinsman  and  neighbors,  both  Hindus  and  Mohammedans,  ap- 
peared in  the  court,  joining  in  the  chorus  of  weeping  and  howling,  and  beating  their 
breasts,  but  the  court  issued  the  decree  that  Kanaya  should  have  his  children. 
The  end  of  his  troubles  now  seemed  near,  for  it  was  believed  that  Ramdei  also 
would  come  to  live  with  him  if  he  obtained  possession  of  his  children.  But 
when  Kanawa  went  to  Naya  Pind,  his  wife  and  children  were  nowhere  to  be 
found.     The  neighbors  scoffed  at  him.     "  Kanaya  cannot  see  his  wife  and  chil- 

196 


/;/  the  "  Tiger's  Den  "  in  Kashmir. 


'97 


dren."  They  had  been  carried  away,  no  one  seemed  to  know  where.  For  five 
long  months  no  trace  whatever  could  be  found  of  the  lost  ones.  Occasionally 
Kanaya  would  be  told  that  if  he  would  forsake  Jesus  he  could  learn  where  his 
family  were,  but  the  temptation  was  quickly  repelled. 


ASCENT  OF  THE   HIMALAYAS   IN   KASHMIR. 


After  a  time  one  of  Kanaya's  relatives  divulged  the  secret.  Ramdei  and  the 
children  were  in  the  village  of  Jundi,  in  the  kingdom  of  Kashmir,  and  she  was  a 
servant  in  the  house  of  Deva  Singh,  who  was  one  of  the  most  cruel  tyrants.  A 
message  came  from  Deva  Singh:  "Tell  Kanaya  that  if  ever  he  come  hither, 
so  sure  as  I  see  him,  I  will  shoot  him  or  behead  him,  and  his  blood  will  be  upon 


igS  In  the  "  Tiger  s  Den  "  in  KasJimir. 

his  own  head."  It  certainly  seemed  as  if  the  case  was  hopeless,  and  Kanaya 
was  advised  by  most  of  his  Christian  associates  to  give  up  the  effort  to  regain  his 
family.     He  would  only  lose  his  own  life  in  the  attempt. 

But  the  Christian  company  were  continually  in  prayer  for  their  afflicted  brother, 
and  Kanaya  himself  held  fast  to  his  belief  that  the  Lord  would  yet  give  him  his 
family.  One  day  he  suddenly  announced  to  his  associates  :  "  Brethren,  I  will  go 
up  to  Jamu,  in  Kashmir,  and  present  my  petition  to  the  king  himself."  Hu- 
manly speaking,  it  was  a  hopeless  undertaking,  and  the  brethren  could  not  advise 
him  to  run  the  risk.  They  called  it  going  "into  the  tiger's  den."  But  a  young 
Mohammedan  servant,  who  was  attached  to  the  Christians  and  enjoyed  their  con- 
fidence, agreed  to  go  with  him,  and  the  brethren  could  only  give  their  consent, 
and  unite  in  prayer  that  God  would  protect  and  prosper  his  servant.  When 
Kanaya  reached  Jamu  he  found  friends  among  the  mahawats,  the  keepers  of  the 
king's  elephants,  all  of  them  Moslems,  who  treated  him  very  kindly,  and  to 
whom  he  gave  an  account  of  his  life.  He  told  them  plainly  that  he  had  lost  his 
wife  and  children  because  he  had  become  a  Christian,  telling  them  also  why  he 
had  become  a  Christian.  From  these  men  he  learned  how  to  reach  the  court. 
The  two  judges,  one  a  Hindu  and  the  other  a  Mohammedan,  heard  his  request 
that  his  wife  and  children,  who  were  at  Deva  Singh's,  should  be  restored  to  him. 
The  judges  asked  him  why  they  were  taken  from  him.  With  great  calmness  but 
very  clearly  Kanaya  replied  :  "  I  had  become  a  Christian,  your  Honor."  Immedi- 
ately the  wrath  of  the  Hindu  judge  was  raised  to  the  utmost.  "  Why  have  you 
become  a  Christian?"  he  demanded.  "  I  have  power  and  authority  to  beat  you 
and  bind  your  feet  with  a  rope,  and  drag  you  out  of  the  city,  and  cast  you  forth 
headlong."  But  the  conference  with  the  judges  went  on,  and,  strange  to  say, 
Kanaya  had  the  opportunity  to  speak  in  the  presence  of  the  court  and  of  all  who 
were  near,  about  the  Christian  faith  and  his  reasons  for  embracing  it.  It  was  a 
faithful  preaching  of  the  gospel,  but  the  judges  were  inflexible  and  ordered  a 
soldier  to  take  Kanaya  out  of  the  city,  and  as  for  obtaining  his  children,  they 
said  :  "  Never,  never  shall  you  in  any  way  be  able  to  recover  them." 

Kanaya  returned  to  his  friends  near  Naya  Pind.  After  a  time  it  occurred  to 
some  of  them  that  there  was  an  attorney  near  them  who  was  a  personal  friend  of 
the  judges  in  Kashmir,  and  a  letter  from  him  might  possibly  help  Kanaya 
before  the  court.  This  letter  was  obtained  and  Kanaya  made  a  second  visit  so 
Jamu,  but  notwithstanding  the  letter,  the  judges  were  still  inexorable.  One  of 
them  said  :  "  If  you  will  forsake  Jesus,  we  will  at  once  restore  to  you  your  family." 
To  which  Kanaya  replied  :  "  If  my  life  must  be  the  price,  I  will  neither  deny 
Jesus  nor  forsake  him."  The  judges  then  declared  that  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  obtain  his  children  "even  if  the  heavens  should  be  turned  upside 
down." 

Once  more  Kanaya  returned  with  an  agonized  heart  to  his  desolate  home,  but 
he  was  heard  to  say  :  "  When  God  gives  a  hukam  then  I  shall  see  them.  All 
power  and  authority  belong  to  him." 

A  hukam  is  an  order  from  a  superior  officer,  and  such  an  order,  strange  to 
say,  Kanaya  obtained  not  long  afterward  from  the  English  Commissioner.  In 
the  capture  and  concealment  of  Ramdei  a  decree  of  a  district  court  had  been 


///  the  "  Tiger's  Den"  in  Kashmir. 


199 


broken,  and  when  this  was  shown  to  the  highest  official  an  order  was  obtained 
addressed  to  the  Maharaja  himself,  calling  upon  him  to  see  that  the  decree  of 
the  court  was  obeyed,  and  the  children  given  over  to  their  father.  Armed  with 
this  hnkam  Kanaya  started  on  his  third  journey  to  Jamil".  We  have  not  room 
here  to  tell  the  long  story  of  the  difficulties  he  encountered.  The  wrath  of  the 
people  and  of  the  officials  was  greatly  stirred.     It  was  said  that  if  the  children 


were  not  delivered  up  in  accordance  with  this  hukam.then  the  treaty  between  the 
Maharaja  and  the  English  would  be  broken,  and  that  there  would  be  war  between 
Kashmir  and  the  British.  The  judges  deliberated  a  long  while.  The  matter  was 
talked  about  throughout  all  the  city.  Never  was  Christianity  so  widely  adver- 
tised in  that  region.  The  people  listened  over  and  over  again  to  the  reasons 
which  induced  Kanaya  to  become  a  Christian.     The  officials  did  not  dare  to  dis- 


200 


In  the  "  Tiger  s  Den  "  in  Kashmir. 


obey  the  mandate  of  the  English  Commissioner,  and  they  finally  issued  the  order 
to  deliver  over  to  Kanaya  his  children.  But  even  then  it  was  not  an  easy  matter 
to  find  them.  Every  obstruction  possible  was  put  in  his  way,  but  at  last  he  dis- 
covered them  in  a  house,  and  presenting  his  order  from  the  court,  he  joyfully  took 
his  children  back  to  Naya  Pind,  carrying  two  of  them,  who  were  sick,  in  little 
beds  suspended  by  a  bamboo  pole  across  his  shoulders.  As  he  reached  his  asso- 
ciates on  Sabbath  morning,  the  Christian  band  that  had  been  praying  for  them 
so  long  broke  out  in  loud  shouts  of  thanksgiving  :  "They  have  come,  they  have 
come  ;  the  children  and  Kanaya  have  come  !  " 

This  striking  story,  only  the  main  features  of  which  we  have  been  able  to  give, 
is  found  in  Dr.  Andrew  Gordon's  volume,  "  Our  India  Mission,"  from  which 


MOSLEMS  OF  INDIA. 


we  have  been  permitted  to  give  the  picture  of  Kanaya  and  his  associates  on  the 
preceding  page.  In  this  picture  Kanaya  is  the  one  sitting  at  the  right  hand, 
with  Ramdei  next  to  him.  The  other  woman  is  Basso,  their  daughter,  while 
Bhajna  stands  at  the  left  of  the  group.  The  whole  story  of  these  people  is  a 
most  thrilling  one,  and  is  vouched  for  by  Dr.  Gordon  as  true.  Ramdei  subse- 
quently became  a  Christian,  and  Kanaya  is  now  headman  of  his  village,  honored 
and  trusted  by  all.  There  are  now  in  Kanaya's  home  both  children  and  chil- 
dren's children,  as  happy  a  household  as  can  anywhere  be  found,  all  the  happier, 
it  is  said,  for  the  sad  years  through  which  he  has  passed.  He  now  rejoices, 
"believing  in  God  with  all  his  house." 


KO-THAH-BYU,   THE    KAREN    APOSTLE 


In  the  year  1827  the  Karens  of  Burma  were  a  poor,  despised,  and  scat- 
tered people,  without  a  written  language,  often  enslaved  and  cruelly  abused 
by  the  Burmans.  They  were  children  of  the  forest,  the  mountain,  and  the  jungle, 
hiding  at  times  from  their  oppressors.  Those  who  dared  to  live  in  the  cities 
were  seized  as  slaves  for  even  a  trifling  debt.  They  were  held  together  by  race 
traditions  and  by  a  religion  distinct  from  any  other  about  them,  having  no  idols 
nor  any  Buddhist  beliefs.  They  said  that  their  ancestors  came  from  the  north- 
west "  across  the  running  river  of  sand  ;  "  and  they  claimed  to  have  had  religious 


A   RED    KAREN    VILLAGE. 

books  which  had  been  lost  by  their  forefathers.  They  retained  traditions  of  the 
creation,  the  fall  of  man,  and  the  flood,  which  correspond  most  wonderfully  to 
the  Old  Testament  history.  They  handed  down  from  father  to  son  the  assur- 
ance that  there  was  a  God  and  that  he  would  yet  save  them.  "  Hence."  wrote 
the  Karen  San-qua-la,  after  he  became  a  Christian  teacher  —  "hence,  in  their 
deep  affliction,  they  prayed  :  '  If  God  will  save  us,  let  him  save  speedily.  We 
can  endure  these  sufferings  no  longer.     Alas  !  where  is  God?'  " 


202  Ko-  Thah-byu,  the  Karen  Apostle. 

The  Karen  elders  also  taught  their  children  many  excellent  moral  precepts. 
So  remarkable  is  their  likeness  to  the  divine  commandments  given  to  the  Jews 
that  some  have  thought  the  Karen  race  must  have  descended  from  the  lost  tribes 
of  Israel.  San-qua-la  says  :  "  We  were  instructed  never  to  forget  God,  to  pray 
to  him  every  day  and  every  night.  A  prophet  also  told  us  that  white  foreigners 
would  come,  who  were  our  younger  brethren,  and  that  they  were  righteous  and 
had  the  words  of  God,  and  that  with  them  happiness  would  arrive." 

To  this  wretched  and  waiting  people  came  at  length  the  promised  deliverance. 
They  heard  rumors  that  the  white  foreigners  were  coming  and  prayed  diligently 
for  their  arrival.  It  was  in  April,  1827,  that  Mr.  Judson,  of  the  American  Bap- 
tist Mission,  notes  among  hopeful  enquirers  a  Karen,  Ko-Thah-byu  by  name,  a 
man  of  very  ordinary  abilities,  exceedingly  ignorant,  passionate,  and  immoral. 
He  accepted  the  truth  of  Christ,  but  it  was  a  year  before  he  gave  such  evidence 
of  a  change  that  the  little  Burman  church  ventured  to  receive  him.  At  his  bap- 
tism in  1828  he  was  forty  years  old,  had  recently  married,  and  had  studied  enough 
to  read  the  Burman  Bible.  Three  Karen  visitors  in  Tavoy  witnessed  his  baptism, 
and  they  urged  him  to  go  back  with  them  and  teach  their  people.  He  consented, 
and  from  that  day  he  ceased  not  to  travel  up  and  down  the  land,  preaching  Jesus. 
The  Karens  listened  eagerly.  Was  not  this  the  God  who  could  deliver? 
Ko-Thah-byu  often  returned  to  Tavoy,  bringing  companies  of  natives  for  further 
instruction.  One  day  he  found  a  very  interesting  young  Karen  in  the  niche  of  a 
a  Buddhist  temple,  where  he  had  been  fasting  two  days.  He  had  heard  of 
Buddha's  rules  from  the  Burmans,  and  thought  he  would  try  this  austerity  in 
hope  of  future  reward.  He  listened  to  the  Christian  teaching,  took  a  Christian 
book,  and  returned  to  his  forest  to  impart  the  knowledge  he  had  gained  to 
others.  Soon  he  was  back  in  Tavoy,  where  Ko-Thah-byu  spent  nearly  a  whole 
night  in  telling  him  the  way  of  God  more  perfectly. 

Ko-Thah-byu  was  now  always  devising  new  and  judicious  plans  of  doing  good. 
His  wife  was  with  him  on  one  long  tour,  and  when  he  had  preached  awhile  in 
a  certain  place  he  said  to  his  host :  "  Brother,  it  is  very  pleasant  staying  with 
thee,  but  my  wife  wishes  to  go  to  Tshiekku."  So  he  took  his  wife  to  tell  the 
good  news  in  Tshiekku,  while  he  went  over  the  mountains  to  another  village. 
December  16,  1830,  he  returned  to  Tavoy  with  nearly  forty  in  his  train,  who  had 
all  come  to  receive  baptism.  In  the  rainy  season,  when  it  was  impossible  to 
travel,  this  diligent  Christian  would  teach  school.  But  preaching  was  his  ruling 
passion.  He  was  once  out  in  a  boat  with  a  missionary  when  they  were  in  great 
danger  of  drowning.  He  cried  out  in  distress,  but  not  merely  in  fear  for  himself, 
or  in  grief  at  parting  from  his  family.  "Teacher,"  he  said,  "we  shall  all  be 
drowned,  and  I  shall  never  more  preach  the  Word  of  God  to  the  Karens  !  " 

The  Karens  repaid  his  toil.  The  missionary,  Mr.  Mason,  visited  the  eastern 
Karen  settlements  where  Ko-Thah-byu  had  labored  most,  and  he  wrote  thence : 
"  I  date  no  longer  from  a  heathen  land.  I  am  seated  in  the  midst  of  a  Christian 
village,  surrounded  by  a  people  that  love  as  Christians,  converse  as  Christians, 
act  like  Christians,  and  look  like  Christians.  I  see  no  dwellings  but  those 
inhabited  by  Christian  families." 

In  1833  Ko-Thah-byu  began  to  travel  through  northern  Burma.  Fifty  Karens 
soon  sought  further  instruction  from   the  missionaries  at  Rangoon,  saying  that 


Ko-Thah-byu,  the  Karen  Apostle, 


203 


their  neighbors  were  coming  soon.  And  they  did  come  in  throngs.  Sometimes 
for  months  together  nothing  would  be  heard  of  Ko-Thah-byu,  until  companies 
of  Karens  converted  by  his  labors  would  arrive  lor  baptism,  or  a  missionary  would 


be  sent  for  to  visit  new  churches  in  the  wilderness  gathered  under  his  preaching. 
One  such  visit,  in  1836,  is  recorded,  when  167  persons  were  found  in  one  place, 
all  of  whom  were  received  into  the  church,  "  sustaining  as  good  an  examination 


204 


Ko-ThaJi-byn,  the  Karen  Apostle. 


as  an  equal  number  of  converts  in  America  would  do."     One  hundred  more 
stood  ready  for  baptism. 

Ko-Thah-byu  was  in  love  with  this  gospel  work.  In  other  matters  he  was 
inefficient :  in  this  he  was  all  alive  and  seemed  nerved  with  more  than  mortal 
energy.  He  would  not  pass  a  person  on  the  road  without  a  few  words  about 
the  great  things  of  God,  and  if  the  person  consented,  would  sit  down  by  the  way- 
side and  preach  to  him  by  the  hour.  He  knew  little  else  save  the  way  of  eternal 
life,  but  this  he  knew  perfectly  and  preached  powerfully. 

But  how  came  it  that  such  a  man,  dull  to  a  proverb  on  other  subjects,  should 
show  such  surprising  power  and  force  of  illustration  the  moment  he  touched  his 

favorite  theme?  One  of  his 
assistants  answered  the  question 
thus  :  "  Ko-Thah-byu  was  an 
ignorant  and  stupid  man,  but 
God  was  with  htm."  He  knew 
that  he  was  nothing  and  could 
do  nothing,  and  this  drove  him  to 
prayer.  When  not  preaching  he 
read  the  Bible  and  prayed.  This 
he  did  aloud,  though  in  a  low 
tone,  and  was  known  to  spend 
whole  days  in  this  way.  After 
evening  worship  he  would  keep 
on  until  nine,  ten,  or  eleven 
o'clock,  and  he  seldom  spent  a 
whole  night  in  sleep,  praying  as 
many  as  three  times.  Here  was 
the  secret  of  his  power. 

After  twelve  years  of  incessant 
labor  this  humble  and  faithful 
apostle  finished  his  course  with 
joy,  on  the  ninth  of  September, 
1840.  No  anxieties  troubled 
him.  To  all  questions  he  answered:  "Teacher,  God  will  preserve  me."  No 
monument  marks  his  grave,  but  in  1878,  fifty  years  after  his  baptism,  the  "Ko- 
Thah-byu  Memorial  Hall "  was  dedicated  in  the  city  of  Bassein  as  a  Christian 
training  school  for  the  Karens.  The  Baptist  Missionary  Magazine  has  kindly 
loaned  us  a  cut  of  this  memorial  hall,  and  also  one  of  a  Red  Karen  village.  The 
hall  accommodates  three  hundred  pupils,  and  the  Karens  themselves  built  it  at 
a  cost  of  over  $30,000.  At  that  time  the  number  of  Karen  Christians  in  Baptist 
churches  was  twenty  thousand.  This  number  has  largely  increased  since  then, 
and  the  good  work  still  goes  on  and  prospers.     All  glory  be  to  God. 


5Hi v-- 

?'^ 

jAf/Uk 

f\ 

A 

^^sjl^vj 

|n 

/  ''"Jr 

'it  - 

¥ 

m 

^HJ" 

'iapK 

%   .1 

\  J& 

A    KAREN    PREACHER. 


China. 


BOSTON   Lug   CO 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW  OF  CHINA'S  GREAT  WALL 

BY    REV.    WM.    P.    SPRAGUE,    OF    (CALGAN,    NORTH    CHINA. 


If  any  one  doubts  the  existence  of  China's  Great  Wall,  let  him  come  with 
me  to  Kalgan,  and  see  for  himself  the  identical  wall  built  by  the  first  Emperor 
Chin,  in  200  B.C. 

Take  a  steamer  across  the  Pacific  to  Tientsin,  then  a  native  boat  up  the 
Pei  Ho  River  three  days,  then  pack-saddle  or  mule-litter  five  days  more,  through 
mountains  and  plains  to  Kalgan.  Before  you  reach  the  city  you  see  a  dark  line 
along  the  hilltops  just  beyond  the  town,  and  by  the  time  you  enter  our  com- 
pound you  see  the  wall  stretching  away  over  the  mountains  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach,  both  east  and  west,  with  towers  on  all  the  prominent  elevations.  As  we 
pay  it  a  visit  for  closer  inspection,  you  find  it  a  windrow  or  ridge  of  reddish- 
brown  porphyry  rock  broken,  not  cut,  into  irregular  blocks.  These  are  so  well 
fitted  to  each  other  that  the  outer 
surface  is  tolerably  smooth  and 
has  somewhat  the  appearance  of 
crazy-patchwork.  The  accom- 
panying diagram  may  help  you 
form  some  idea  of  its  shape. 

It  is  about  ten  feet  broad  at 
base  and  fifteen  feet  high,  the 
sides  sloping  to  a  sharp  ridge 
like  a  steep  house-roof.  You  may  follow  this  wall  eastward  to  the  sea, 
and  westward  to  Kansuh,  the  northwestern  province ;  and  so  doing  you  will 
have  traversed  the  entire  northern  frontier  of  China,  fifteen  hundred  miles. 
Though  you  find  several  hundred  miles  of  adobe  sun-dried  mud-wall,  yet  other 
hundreds  of  miles  are  of  good  brick  and  higher  than  at  Kalgan.  By  the  time 
you  have  traced  its  length  you  will  be  willing  to  concede,  not  only  that  China 
has  a  great  wall,  but  also  that  the  ruler  who  could  conquer  so  vast  a  country, 
drive  out  the  invading  Tartars,  and  build  a  fortification  fifteen  hundred  miles 
long  to  keep  them  out,  was  worthy  to  be  called  the  First  Emperor,  and  to  give 
his  name  (China)  to  the  country. 

If  any  one  laughs  at  the  folly  of  spending  so  much  labor  on  such  a  useless 
defence,  let  him  remember  that  it  was  a  defence  only  against  horseback  riders, 
armed  with  nothing  but  bows  and  arrows.  A  few  guards  on  the  watchtowers 
could,  with  their  signal  fires  on  the  mountain-tops,  easily  rouse  the  villagers,  far 

207 


OUTER  GREAT  WALL  AT  KALGAN. 


208 


Under  the  Shadow  of  China  s  Great  Wall. 


and  near,  to  the  defence  of  their  homes.  And  this  wall  accomplished  its 
purpose  for  over  a  thousand  years,  when  the  great  Ghenghis  Khan  with  his 
brave  Mongol  followers  broke  their  way  through.  In  the  picture  of  Kalgan  on 
this  page  you  may  see  the  gateway  through  which  he  forced  his  way  in  his 
victorious  march  to  Peking  and  the  conquest  of  the  empire. 

This  section  of  the  Great  Wall  becomes  for  half  a  mile  the  city  wall  of  Kalgan. 
A  beautiful  temple  is  built  on  this  wall  to  celebrate  Ghenghis  Khan's  victorious 
passage. 


■    ■ 


-ASsS* 


NORTH    WALL   AND    GATE   OF    KALGAN. 

This  two-thousand-year-old  wall  is  little  known  to  the  world  at  large,  because 
there  is  another  wall  much  oftener  visited  and  described  by  visitors  from  the 
Western  world.  It  is  near  Peking  and  a  far  more  imposing  structure.  A  section 
of  it  is  shown  in  the  cut  on  the  next  page.  This  is  only  an  inner  arm  of  the 
Great  Wall,  but  five  hundred  miles  long  and  not  so  old  by  seven  hundred 
years.  It  is  built  of  cut  granite  and  good  brick,  and  is  thirty  feet  wide  at  its 
base,  twenty- five  feet  wide  at  the  top,  and  thirty  feet  high.  It  is  a  fine  sight  as 
it  winds  over  the  highest  mountain-tops. 

But  there  is  a  certain  little  millet  field  and  threshing-floor  within  a  mile  of  that 
outer  Great  Wall  at  Kalgan  which  is  to  become  more  famous  than  either  of 
these  walls.  The  field  was  bought  in  18S1  by  the  missionaries  for  the  American 
Board,  and  on  it  has  been  built  the  first  Protestant  church  edifice  in  all  this 
northern  region.     An  American  church-bell,  hung  in  a  tower  beside  this  chapei, 


Under  the  Shadow  of  Chinas  Great  Wall. 


calls  together  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  Christians  for  prayer  and  worship.  The 
drawing  on  the  last  page  shows  the  bell  and  tower  and  side  of  the  chapel. 
There  are  also  built  upon  this  ground  three  missionary  residences  and  two  school 
buildings. 

Out  from  this  Bethel  sounds  the  gospel  of  salvation  in  many  ways.  First  in 
importance  is  the  teaching  of  Bible  truth  to  the  young.  We  have  had  a  boys' 
day-school  for  more  than  twenty  years.  Several  from  this  school  have  become 
useful  Christians.  One  is  now  a  preacher  and  several  others  are  studying  for  the 
ministry.     And  now  we  have  started  a  boarding  school  that  we  may  have  the 


INNER    GREAT    WALL    NEAR    PEKING. 


promising  boys  under  our  more  immediate  influence  and  instruction.  We  shall 
fit  some  of  them  for  the  college  department  of  our  central  school  at  Tung-cho, 
and  such  as  prove  efficient  and  seem  to  be  called  of  God  to  the  work  will  con- 
tinue through  the  Theological  Seminary.  One  of  the  boys  in  the  boarding  school 
at  Kalgan  is  supported  by  a  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  the  State  of  New 
York.  There  are  more  bright,  Christian  boys  waiting  to  be  adopted  by  other 
societies.  It  costs  but  $25  a  year  to  do  this.  Who  would  like  to  aid  in  this 
work  ? 

Outside  of  these  schools  we  have  applications  from  young  men  to  teach 
them  the  Bible  in  the  winter  time,  inasmuch  as  in  the  summer  they  are  too  busy 
on  their  farms  even  to  listen  to  preaching.  We  usually  have  a  class  of  twenty  or 
thirty  of  these.     Some  are  Christians  and  want  to  work  for  God,  but  do  not 


210 


Under  the  Shadow  of  China  s  Great  Wall. 


know  how.  Others  are  inquirers  after  truth,  and  here  as  elsewhere  those  who 
honestly  seek  for  the  truth  find  it.  It  requires  about  $5  to  help  one  of  these 
country  youths  to  a  winter's  study  of  the  Bible. 

And  then,  for  the  little  bound-footed  girls,  we  have  the  best  school  of  all.  It 
is  a  boarding  school  in  a  good  building  on  our  compound,  and  Miss  Diament 
gives  to  them  her  almost  undivided  attention.  Some  of  the  girls  are  children  of 
church  members,  while  others  are  children  of  heathen  parents.  All  are  being 
loosened  from  a  bondage  of  error  and  superstition  worse  than  foot-binding. 
Many  of  these  come  from  dark  and  filthy  houses  of  ignorance  and  misery  and 

cruelty.  In  this  bright,  cheer- 
ful school  home  they  learn 
godliness  and  cleanliness  and 
good  housekeeping.  And 
then  they  go  back  prepared, 
with  God's  help,  to  renovate, 
enlighten,  and  transform  these 
houses  of  sorrow  into  happy 
Christian  homes. 

To  support  one  of  these 
girls  in  this  school  requires 
about  $30  a  year.  There  are 
now  about  sixteen  of  them. 
Who  wants  to  help  more  girls 
out  of  the  darkness  into  the 
blessed  sunshine  of  the  gos- 
pel? For  each  of  these 
schools  and  the  missionary 
work  they  represent,  we  be- 
speak your  sympathy  and  your 
prayers. 

Are  there  not  some  sons  and  daughters  of  the  King,  who  read  this  account, 
who  will,  for  Christ's  sake,  come  to  these  ends  of  the  earth  to  help  save  some 
of  these  for  whom  Christ  came  from  heaven?  Are  there  not  others  who  would 
like  to  send  a  substitute  to  tell  these  perishing  ones  the  wonderful  words  of 
God's  love?  In  the  schools  above  spoken  of  see  an  opportunity  of  training  and 
sending  forth  your  missionary  to  rescue  many  of  China's  millions.  And  will  not 
each  of  you  hereafter,  as  you  think  of  China's  Great  Wall,  also  think  of,  pity,  and 
pray  for  the  great  multitudes  who  live  under  its  shadow? 


Icn.S    £„z    Co. 


BELL  AND  TOWER   OF   CHAPEL. 


THE  WORSHIP  OF  THE  FAIRY  FOX. 

BY    REV.    HENRY    KINGMAN,    OF  TUNG-CH<>,    NORTH    CHINA. 


I  think  we  have  all  of  us,  whether  we  are  so  old  as  to  have  forgotten  it,  or  so 
young  as  to  remember  it  very  well,  passed  through  a  time  when  we  believed  in 
fairies.     But  as  we  get  older,  fairy  stories  lose  their  interest  for  us,  and  when 


\-      : 


i  % 


A   TOWER    IN   THE   GREAT  WALL   OF    CHINA. 


we  learn  that  our  bread  and  butter  and  all  the  other  pleasant  things  of  life 
come  only  by  working  for  them,  and  not  by  the  kindness  of  fairies,  —  or  such 
delightful  little  creatures  as  Palmer  Cox's  brownies,  —  then  we  lose  faith  in  them 
altogether,  and  become  quite  too  sober  and  matter-of-fact.  And  this  is  where 
you  and  I  are  very  different  from  a  Chinaman  ;  because,  no  matter  how  hard  a 
Chinaman  has  to  rake  and   hoe  and  grub  for  his  daily  bread,  his   faith   in   the 


2 1 2  The  Worship  of  the  Fairy  Fox. 

fairies  never  leaves  him.  If  you  see  an  old  Chinese  gentleman  with  large  spec- 
tacles, and  a  face  so  grave  that  it  makes  you  quite  chilly  even  to  look  at  him,  you 
would  never  think  that  he  would  kneel  down  and  pray  to  a  fairy  that  any  small 
boy  at  home  could  tell  him  was  all  moonshine.  And  yet  he  will !  and  do  more 
than  this  too,  if  he  is  one  of  the  common  people. 

I  really  wish  that  the  Chinese  fairies  were  more  like  these  same  brownies  that 
you  all  know  so  well  —  always  wearing  a  smile  or  a  grin  and  brimming  over  with 
goodhumor  and  helpfulness.  But  if  you  were  to  guess  from  now  till  nighttime 
what  sort  of  fairies  they  are  that  nearly  all  the  common  people  of  Tientsin 
believe  in  and  worship,  I  am  sure  you  would  not  guess  rightly ;  they  are  the 
"  Fairy  family  "  :  the  fox,  snake,  hedgehog,  weasel,  and  rat.  Not  the  kind  with 
gossamer  wings,  you  see,  or  in  the  shape  of  little  men  and  women  —  but  very 
ugly  creatures  that  most  of  us  do  not  even  care  to  look  at.  And  the  people's 
belief  in  them  is  not  at  all  a  make-believe  kind  of  faith,  but  a  worship  in 
downright  earnest.     You  will  find  shrines  for  them  in  many  houses. 

When  I  was  in  Mongolia  last  summer,  I  was  looking  at  one  of  these  large 
towers  of  the  Great  Wall,  like  the  one  in  the  foregoing  picture,  only  higher,  and 
trying  to  find  out  how  we  could  climb  up  to  the  top.  On  one  side  of  it,  in  the 
stonework  that  you  see  around  its  base,  there  was  a  small  hole,  just  large  enough 
for  a  man  to  crawl  into  on  his  hands  and  knees ;  this  ran  right  into  the  tower, 
into  pitch  darkness.  We  crawled  in.  There  was  a  little  tunnel  inside,  with  a 
square  hole  at  one  end  of  it  leading  up  to  the  top  of  the  tower ;  but  the  tunnel 
itself  was  very  dark  and  dirty,  and  just  the  place  for  a  beast's  den  —  for  it  was 
far  from  any  houses,  and  there  are  foxes  and  wolves  in  Mongolia  which  would  be 
glad  of  such  a  hiding-place.  As  we  crawled  out  we  noticed  pieces  of  paper 
pasted  on  the  stone,  with  characters  written  on  them.  What  do  you  think  they 
said?  That  wretched  little  hole  had  been  dedicated  as  a  home  of  the  fairy 
fox,  and  these  pieces  of  paper,  with  sentences  of  prayer  or  praise  on  them,  had 
been  brought  by  worshipers  and  pasted  about  the  door  of  this  curious  temple. 
Some  one  had  probably  seen  a  fox  take  refuge  there,  and  jumped  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  it  was  the  real  fairy  fox  and  that  he  must  be  worshiped. 

Now  can  you  tell  a  fairy  fox  from  a  common  everyday  fox?  The  trouble  is 
just  there ;  it  is  hard  to  tell,  except  when  you  see  him  in  the  very  act  of  chang- 
ing into  a  beautiful  woman  or  an  old  man,  or  perhaps  vanishing  entirely ;  then 
you  know  that  it  was  a  fairy  fox.  But  although  every  Chinaman  knows  and  is 
taught  that  the  fox  can  make  these  changes  easily,  yet  very  few  have  really  seen 
him  just  at  the  moment  when  the  change  was  taking  place.  Ancient  philoso- 
phers say  that  the  fox  at  the  age  of  fifty  can  take  the  form  of  a  woman  ;  at  one 
hundred  can  become  a  young  girl  or  a  wizard,  if  he  chooses  ;  that  at  one  thou- 
sand he  is  admitted  to  the  heavens,  and  becomes  the  "celestial  fox."  The  com- 
mon people,  though,  say  that  he  only  has  to  practise  certain  occult  arts  for  600 
fairy  years  —  which  are  only  eighty  of  our  years  —  and  then  he  is  immortal  and 
can  change  his  shape  as  he  pleases. 

A  year  or  two  ago,  in  the  city  of  Tung-cho,  a  man  saw,  or  pretended  to  see, 
a  fairy  fox  take  refuge  in  a  hole  in  the  city  wall.  The  news  spread  quickly,  and 
people  began  to  come  from  all  quarters  to  offer  worship  at  the  hole  in  the  brick- 
work and  pray  for  what  they  wanted  most.     As  offerings  flowed  in,  a  little  temple 


The  Worship  of  the  fumy  Fax. 


213 


was  built  against  the  side  of  the  wall,  as  you  see  it  in  this  picture  below  ;  and 
here  hundreds  burned  their  incense  and  besought  the  fairy  fox  to  be  merciful  to 
them  and  help  them.  Some  thought  that  the  powerful  fairy  heard  their  prayers 
and  sent  an  answer.  These  brought  strips  of  cloth,  with  short  sentences  of  praise 
or  of  thanksgiving  written  on  them,  and  hung  them  on  the  wall  above  the  shrine, 
as  you  see  them  there.  One  of  these,  which  you  often  see  on  idol  shrines,  has 
the  words  "  Ask  and  it  shall  he  given  "  ;  another  calls  the  fox  "  Preserver  of  all 
life  "  ;  and  some  refer  to  him  as  enlightening  or  saving  all  men.     Indeed  he  is 


■      ■ 

A    FOX    TEMPLE    BY    THE    CITY    WALL    AT    TUNG-CHO. 


constantly  working  miracles  of  healing  or  help,  so  the  people  believe,  and  the 
worship  of  many  a  gorgeous  idol  in  the  temple  is  neglected  for  that  of  the  god-fox. 
If  you  were  to  go  into  his  temple,  here  in  Tientsin,  you  would  not  see  any 
image  of  the  fox  himself,  but  only  one  of  a  solemn  Chinese  mandarin,  with  his 
wife,  —  Mrs.  Fox,  —  sitting  by  his  side,  and  a  number  of  small  boys  and  girls 
about  them  —  the  little  foxes.  It  is  not  considered  respectful  to  make  a  picture 
or  an  image  of  him  as  an  animal,  so  he  appears  always  as  a  grave  old  gentleman, 
very  unlike  the  sly,  skulking  creature  that  you  and  I  have  always  thought  a  fox 
to  be.  You  could  never  tell,  if  you  were  to  go  into  a  Chinese  temple,  what  the 
idols  were  meant  to  represent,  whether  animals  or  men  or  fire  or  thunder  or 


214 


The  Worship  of  the  Fairy  Fox. 


money  or  long  life,  or  what  else.  Below  is  one,  for  example,  of  the  thunder- 
spirit  —  the  very  unamiable-looking  old  patriarch  in  the  middle  is  he,  with  mallet 
and  chisel  in  his  hand  and  a  chubby  attendant  on  either  side. 

There  is  only  room  here  to  say  two  things  more.  First,  Do  you  live  in  New 
England,  pretty  near  where  the  Missionary  Herald  is  published?  If  you  do, 
then  I  think  the  fairy  fox  used  to  be  worshiped,  much  as  the  Chinese  worship 
him,  by  the  very  people  who  once  lived  there  before  you  —  that  is,  the  Indians. 
The  Pilgrim  fathers  could  have  told  you  about  it  very  well,  and  John  Eliot,  who 
was  the  great  missionary  to  our  own  Massachusetts  Indians,  saw  sc  much  of  this 
curious  belief  that  he  has  written  about  it  in  his  books.     And  there,  if  you  look, 


THE    THUNDER    SPIRIT. 


you  will  find  what  they  believed.  But  the  second  thing  is  the  more  important 
one.  When  you  next  pray  to  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  and  especially  when 
you  have  any  trouble  or  need  to  bring  to  him  for  help  or  comfort,  remember 
those  who  at  such  a  time  have  no  better  than  a  fox  to  tell  their  troubles  to. 
There  are  thousands  here  about  me  who,  when  they  are  in  great  sorrow,  go  in  all 
earnestness  to  beg  these  five  poor  animals  to  help  them,  not  knowing  where  else 
to  go.  Let  us  remember  then,  when  we  pray,  to  thank  our  heavenly  Father  that 
we  know  him.  Perhaps  some  day  and  in  some  way  we  may  even  help  those  who 
are  now  worshiping  the  fairy  fox  to  thank  him  with  us. 


JAMES   GILMOUR   OF   MONGOLIA 


In  that  glorious,  long-promised  day  when  Christ  shall  reign  in  every  land  and 
heart,  and  when  even  Mongolia  shall  be  the  home  of  a  pure  and  happy  people, 
this  name  will  shine  in  her  annals  as  a  star  of  the  early  dawn.  In  him  Scotland 
has  given  for  the  world's  redemption  another  of  her  strong,  resolute,  self-denying 
sons.  James  Gilmour  was  born  at  Cathkin,  near  Glasgow,  June  12,  1843.  He 
received  his  early  training  in  a  household  of  Congregationalist  Christians,  who 
every  Sunday  walked  five  miles  to  worship  with  a  church  of  their  own  order  in 
Glasgow.  His  father,  a  joiner  and  timber  merchant,  gave  to  his  bright,  studious 
boy  every  opportunity  for  thorough  education  and  in  due  time  he  was  graduated 
at  the  University  of  Glasgow.  He  had  not  a  shred  of  indolence  in  his  nature 
and  his  superior  scholarship  secured  for  him  many  prizes,  but,  as  he  always 
shrank  from  speaking  about  himself,  it  was  not  till  near  the  close  of  his  Univer- 
sity career  that  his  comrades  saw  he  had  been  preparing  for  some  great  work. 
When  it  became  known  that  such  a  distinguished  scholar  meant  to  be  a  foreign 
missionary,  thus  giving  his  life  for  Christ  among  the  heathen,  the  moral  effect 
was  very  great.     To  some  it  proved  an  unspeakable  blessing. 

At  his  ordination  Mr.  Gilmour  said  :  "  Even  on  the  low  ground  of  common 
sense  I  seemed  called  to  be  a  missionary.  Is  the  kingdom  a  harvest  field? 
Then  I  thought  it  reasonable  that  I  should  work  where  work  was  most  abundant 
and  the  workers  were  fewest.  But  I  go  out  as  a  missionary,  not  that  I  may  fol- 
low the  dictates  of  common  sense  but  that  I  may  obey  that  command  of  Christ, 
'Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach.'  This  command  seems  to  me  strictly  a 
missionary  injunction,  so  that,  apart  altogether  from  choice  and  other  lower 
reasons,  my  going  forth  is  a  matter  of  obedience  to  a  plain  command  ;  and  in 
place  of  seeking  to  assign  a  reason  for  going  abroad,  I  would  prefer  to  say  that 
I  have  failed  to  discover  any  reason  why  I  should  remain  at  home." 

It  was  in  February,  1870,  when  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age,  that  James 
Gilmour  sailed  for  China,  under  appointment  from  the  London  Missionary  Soci- 
ety. A  work  among  the  Mongols  had  been  begun  in  181 7,  by  two  Englishmen, 
who  translated  the  whole  Bible  into  Mongolian  before  they  were  ordered,  in  [841, 
by  the  Russian  emperor,  to  leave  the  Buriat  province,  which  was  under  Russian 
control.  It  was  to  reopen  this  mission  that  Mr.  Gilmour  was  sent  out.  The 
London  Mission  at  Peking  formed  the  base  of  operations,  but,  hardly  pausing 
there,  he  set  out  alone  for  the  north. 


2l6 


James  Gilmour  of  Mongolia. 


Mongolia  is  a  vast,  almost  unknown  territory,  the  largest  dependency  of  the 
Chinese  empire,  stretching  nearly  3,000  miles  from  the  Sea  of  Japan  on  the  east  to 
Turkestan  on  the  west,  and  about  900  miles  from  the  Chinese  Wall  on  the  south 
to  Siberia  on  the  north.  Its  high  tablelands  are  reached  through  rugged  moun- 
tain gorges.  Central  and  Western  Mongolia  are  inhabited  by  a  roving  people, 
who  drive  their  flocks  and  herds  over  the  plains  for  pasturage  in  summer  and 
cluster  in  huts  during  the 
winter.  Eastern  Mongo- 
lians are  agriculturists. 
The  winter  is  long  and 
cold,  the  summer  heat  is 
often  oppressive,  and  the 
great  central  plain  is  sub- 
ject to  severe  storms  of 
wind,  dust,  and  rain. 

No  country  under  hea- 
ven is  more  completely  in 
the  grasp  of  its  religious 
system.  Buddhism  is 
everywhere  ;  half  the  men 
are  Buddhist  priests,  or 
lamas.  "  Meet  a  Mongol 
on  the  road  and  he  is  pro- 
bably counting  his  beads 
or  saying  his  prayers.  Ask 
him  where  he  is  going  and 
he  will  probably  say,  '  To 
the  temple.'  "  But  when 
a  Mongol  sends  for  a  lama 
to  read  prayers  in  his  tent, 
the  inmates  do  not  listen  ; 
if  they  did,  they  could  not 
understand,  and  they  talk 

on    much    as    usual.     Of    ^T  .      ^ 

one  young  lama  Mr.  Gil-     /^a-u/*-"  w 
mour  wrote  :  "  He  is  about  (J 
as  wicked  a  boy  as  I  know, 

a    thoroughly   bad    lad."  £/  i. 

Priests    and    people    are 

made  stolid,  ignorant,  and  poor  by  the  excessive  use  of  whiskey,  opium,  and 
tobacco.     Their  best  land  is  devoted  to  these  products. 

Mr.  Gilmour's  first  Mongolian  journey  took  a  month's  time  —  from  the  south- 
ern frontier  at  Kalgan  across  the  great  plain,  by  the  camel-cart  and  ox-cart  route, 
to  the  Siberian  town  of  Kiachta.  Being  detained  there  several  months,  he  suf- 
fered great  depression  from  the  intense  loneliness.  He  then  declared  his  convic- 
tion that  two  missionaries  should  always  go  together.  This  makes  it  the  more 
pathetic  that  in  all  his  twenty  years  of  toil  he  never  really  had  a  colleague.     One 


f  ,  1       / 


fames  Gilmour  of  Mongolia. 


'7 


after    another    was    a] .pointed,    but     from    force    of    circumstances    was    soon 
withdrawn. 

Gilmour  finally  plunged  into  the  tent  life  of  a  friendly  Mongol;  thus  rapidly 
acquiring  the  language  and  enlarging  his  knowledge  of  the  people.  He  lived 
on  indigestible  meat,  brick  tea,  and  boiled  millet,  and  sat  endlessly  in  tents 
among  lamas,  giving  up  the  luxury  even  of  a  morning  walk  for  private  devotion-,. 
•'  For  why,"  asked  the  suspicious  Mongols,  "should  a  foreigner  get  out  of  bed  at 
sunrise  and  climb  a  hill  for  nothing?  He  must  be  secretly  taking  away  the  luck 
of  the  land  !"  With  simple  remedies  the  missionary  treated  their  diseases  and 
secured  their  confidence  until  he  became  known  among  them  as  "  Our  Gilmour." 


JAMES    GILMOUK'S    TENT. 


Still  he  could  not  do  all  they  asked,  for  one  wanted  to  be  made  clever,  another 
to  be  cured  of  hunger,  and  many  men  wanted  medicine  to  make  their  beards  grow 
while  almost  everybody  desired  a  skin  as  white  as  the  foreigner's. 

This  was  the  summer  life  from  1870  through  1874,  the  winters  being  spent  in 
Peking,  whither  Mongols  resort  and  where  the  gospel  was  as  earnestly  declared 
to  them  as  on  the  plain.  In  December,  1874,  Mr.  Gilmour  was  married  to  Miss 
Prankard,  the  sister  of  a  Peking  missionary,  who  came  out  from  England  as  his 
promised  wife,  though  they  had  never  met  till  her  arrival  in  China.  This  was 
nevertheless  a  most  happy  marriage. 

"  You  need  not  be  the  least  shy  of  me  or  of  my  English  wife,"  wrote  Mr. 
Gilmour  to  a  Scotch  friend  ;  "  she  is  a  good  lassie,  any  quantity  better  than  me  ; 
as  much  and  perhaps  more  of  a  Christian  and  a  missionary  than  I  am." 

When  the  Mongolian  trips  were  resumed,  this  delicately  nurtured  lady  went 
also;  doing  her  part  in  winning  the  people  and  facing  perils,  privations,  and 
daily  crosses  with  cheerful  fortitude.     The)   had  two  tents,  one  for  themselves 


2 1 8  James  Gilmour  of  Mongolia. 

only,  but  were  obliged  to  keep  open  house  or  be  thought  haughty.  So  at  meals, 
devotions,  ablutions,  there  the  Mongols  were  !  The  Gilmours  were  rewarded  by 
often  hearing  their  visitors  say  that  while  other  foreigners  were  harsh  and  distant 
these  people  were  gentle  and  accessible.  But  in  the  shape  of  converts  there 
were  no  results.  Nobody  even  wanted  to  be  a  Christian  until  1885,  when  one 
Mongol  taught  by  Mr.  Gilmour  was  baptized  at  Kalgan.  This  great  joy  was 
soon  followed  by  the  great  sorrow  of  Mrs.  Gilmour's  death  and  by  the  parting 
with  their  two  boys,  who  were  sent  home  for  education. 

Leaving  the  Mongols  of  the  plain,  who  were  now  somewhat  benefited  by  the 
American  Board  Mission  at  Kalgan,  Mr.  Gilmour  went  to  the  farming  people  of 
Eastern  Mongolia,  among  whom  there  are  many  Chinamen.  Here  till  1891  he 
sowed  in  tears  ;  reaping  no  harvest  among  the  Mongols  but  gathering  in  a  few 
Chinese  converts.  He  found  every  imposing  building  in  the  towns  to  be  either 
a  distillery  or  a  pawnshop,  while  gambling  and  opium-eating  filled  up  the  meas- 
ure of  poverty,  disease,  and  sin.  He  adopted  the  native  dress,  lived  on  native 
food,  and  often  took  his  bowl  of  porridge  in  the  street,  on  a  stool,  by  the  boiler 
of  an  itinerant  restaurant  keeper.  His  average  expense  for  food  was  threepence 
a  day. 

He  set  up  his  tent  in  marketplaces,  dispensing  medicines,  selling  Christian 
books,  and  teaching  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  to  any  who  would  hear.  He  lived 
under  great  spiritual  tension  as  well  as  in  utter  solitude  of  heart.  No  man  more 
needed  the  comfort  of  fellowship,  but  he  did  not  allow  the  failure  of  all  efforts 
to  secure  him  a  colleague  to  hinder  the  work.  On  one  tour  he  wrote  of  himself 
and  his  Chinese  servant:  "The  ten  days  we  passed  there  we  were  the  song  of 
the  drunkard  and  the  jest  of  the  abject,  but  the  peace  of  God  passes  all  under- 
standing, and  that  kept  my  heart  and  mind.  We  put  a  calm  front  on ;  put  out 
our  stand  daily,  and  carried  ourselves  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  The  great 
thought  in  my  mind  these  days,  and  the  great  object  of  my  life  is  to  be  like 
Christ.  ...  I  feel  called  to  go  through  all  this  sort  of  thing  and  feel  perfectly 
secure  in  God's  hands.  One  thing  I  am  sure  of.  The  thousands  here  need 
salvation.  God  is  most  anxious  to  give  it  to  them ;  where,  then,  is  the  hin- 
drance? In  them?  I  hardly  think  so.  In  God?  No.  In  me,  then!  The 
thing  I  am  praying  away  at  now  is  that  he  would  remove  that  hindrance  by 
whatever  process  is  necessary.  I  dare  not  tell  you  how  much  I  pray."  Again, 
"  I  am  distressed  at  so  few  conversions  here,  but  sometimes  very  fully  satisfied  in 
believing  I  am  trying  to  do  his  will.  That  makes  me  calm.  .  .  .  Brother,  let  us 
be  faithful ;  that  is  what  God  wants,  what  he  can  use."  .  .  . 

A  few  years  of  this  strain  brought  down  the  strength  of  the  lonely  worker,  and 
in  1889  he  was  obliged  to  take  his  second  voyage  home.  The  first  had  been  in 
1882,  after  twelve  years'  service.  Eight  months  in  England  now  restored  him 
wonderfully.  His  worn  look  disappeared,  his  smile  was  bright,  and  his  form 
regained  much  of  its  former  life  and  spring.  Returned  to  Mongolia,  he  modified 
his  vegetarian  regimen,  and  rested  more  on  Sundays,  taking  only  the  services 
with  Christians  and  inquirers,  and  not  setting  up  his  tent  in  the  streets  on  that 
day.     Moreover  a  young  and  likeminded  colleague  reached  him  in  December, 

1890,  and  all  promised  well  for  future  service.     Being  called  to  Tientsin  in  April, 

1891,  he  wrote  home  :  "  I  am  in  Ai   health,  everybody  says  so  here,  and  that 


fames  Gilmour  of  Mongolia. 


219 


truly.  Meantime  I  am  in  clover,  physically  and  spiritually."  Only  one  month 
more  and  a  sudden  fever  had  taken  him  away  !  He  died  at  Tientsin,  May  21, 
1891.  His  noble  self-sacrifice,  perseverance,  and  courage  were  just  beginning 
totellvisil.lv.      His  withdrawal  is  a  mystery  indeed.      But   he   has   made  a  plain 


I 


1 


path  for  those  who  shall  follow  him,  and  has  left  to  the  whole  Church  an  inspiring 
example  of  victorious  trust  and  obedience  amid  long  disappointment  and  delay. 
"Ablaze  from  first  to  last  with  a  passionate  desire  to  set  forth  Christ  in  his  majesty 
and  mercy,"  he  gave  the  highest  proof  that  Christ  dwelt  in  him  by  heroic  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  God. 


SCENES   IN   SOUTH    CHINA. 


BY    REV.    C.    R.    HAGER,    M.D.,    OF    HONG    KOX< ;. 


It  is  just  fourteen  years  since  the  South  China  Mission  of  the  American 
Board  was  founded.  At  that  time  there  was  not  a  single  chapel,  not  a  single 
school  belonging  to  the  mission,  whereas  to-day  the  mission  reports  show  some 
1 88  members,  with  five  schools  in  the  interior,  four  in  Canton,  and  five  in  Hong 
Kong,    while  the    number  of    chapels  that  are  under  the  care  of   the  mission 


THE   CONFERENCE   OF  THE  SOUTH    CHINA    MISSION. 


embraces  nine  in  the  country,  two  in  Canton,  and  one  in  Hong  Kong.  The 
accompanying  photo-engraving  shows  all  the  preachers  and  many  of  the  Chris- 
tians from  the  country.  At  the  beginning  of  February  of  1897,  or  just  after 
Chinese  New  Year,  we  held  our  second  annual  Congregational  Conference,  which 
was  attended  by  some  seventy  or  eighty  persons.  Some  of  the  members  present 
have  lived  in  New  York,  some  in  San  Francisco,  and  some  in  Australia,  so  that 
it  was  quite  a  representative  body  of  our  Chinese  Christians.  If  you  will  scan 
the  picture  closely,  you  will  observe  that  many  faces  indicate  a  high  order  of 
intelligence.     Surely  the  Lord  has  wrought  great  things  for  some  of  these  men 


Scenes  in  South  China. 


22\ 


who  have  been  renewed  in  mind  and  heart.  The  bands  of  superstition  which 
once  bound  their  intellects  have  been  forever  severed  and  they  are  free  men,  free 
in  intellect  and  free  in  heart.  Altogether  the  fifteen  or  twenty  preachers  and 
teachers  who  are  in  the  group  are,  with  few  exceptions,  a  strong  set  of  men,  and 
they  are  sure  to  be  leaders  among  their  own  people  in  China.  It  was  a  great  joy 
as  well  as  delight  to  see  this  large  gathering,  where  seven  years  ago  we  did  not 
even  have  a  chapel ;  but  the  greatest  joy  of  all  was  to  hear  the  earnest,  spiritual 
addresses  made,  some  of  which  were  really  inspiring. 

The  second  picture  represents  Mrs.  Hager's  kindergarten  school,  which  is  in 
Hong  Kong.  Some  thirty  or  forty  children  are  in  constant  attendance,  and  it  is 
marvelous  how  much  of  Scripture  these  little  ones  learn.  Their  songs  and  their 
plays  are  all  in  Chinese,  but  they  go  through  their  various  movements  with  an 


MRS.    HAGER'S    KINDERGARTEN    AT    HONG    KONG. 


ease  that  would  speak  well  for  older  persons.     They  also  learn    a    number  of 
hymns  which  they  sing  quite  well. 

The  school  has  been  quite  an  object  lesson  to  travelers  and  to  Chinese  who  do 
not  know  anything  about  amusing  children  and  instructing  them  at  the  same 
time.  At  the  last  Christmas  occasion  they  had  a  separate  Christmas  tree,  but 
before  they  received  their  little  presents  of  stockings,  sweetmeats,  apples,  and 
other  dainties,  they  told  the  story  of  the  angels'  song,  the  Saviour's  birth,  and 
the  shepherds  watching  their  flocks  by  night.  Then  followed  a  number  of  songs, 
which  the  little  three  or  four-year-old  children  sang  with  a  great  deal  of  spirit. 
The  mothers  and  fathers  of  the  children  were  all  present  and  took  great  delight 
in  seeing  their  little  ones  so  happy  and  in  receiving  these  little  tokens  for  their 
faithfulness.     Heathen  mothers  often  come  and  peep  in  at  the  door  and  watch 


222  Scenes  in  South  China. 

the  children  at  their  plays.  When  a  child  comes  to  school  with  dirty  face  and 
hands,  it  is  sent  home  to  be  washed,  so  that  cleanliness  is  one  of  the  first  lessons 
taught.  The  picture  shows  some  of  the  blocks  with  which  the  children  play, 
while  a  few  of  the  children  of  missionaries  stand  in  the  rear. 

We  have  recently  had  an  experience  of  sharp  persecution  in  the  village  of 
Miu  Pin.  A  piece  of  ground  had  been  bought  for  a  chapel,  the  money  paid  for 
it  having  been  raised  in  America,  chiefly  among  the  Yung  clan.  Yung  Chan, 
our  helper  at  Hoi  Hau  Fau,  had  conducted  the  business,  and  this  so  aroused  the 
anger  of  some  of  the  villagers  that  one  of  them  gave  him  a  beating.  Yung 
Chan's  family  were  persecuted  in  such  ways  that  they  had  to  flee.  A  placard 
was  posted  boycotting  both  Yung  Chan  and  Yung  Pak,  and  the  material  bought 
for  the  chapel  was  seized  and  carried  away.  Yung  Pak's  father  was  compelled 
to  sign  a  paper  stating  that  if  his  son  should  be  killed,  he  would  not  charge  the 
deed  to  these  villagers.  Thirty  dollars  were  offered  for  the  head  of  Yung  Chan. 
We  had  demanded  through  our  consul  that  the  lives  of  the  Christians  should  be 
protected,  that  the  stolen  material  should  be  restored,  and  that  we  be  allowed  to 
build  at  once. 

But  when  we  visited  Miu  Pin,  together  with  some  eight  Christians,  we  found 
the  placard  boycotting  Yung  Chan  and  Yung  Pak  posted  prominently,  and  we 
tore  it  down.  This  aroused  the  anger  of  the  women,  who  tried  to  snatch  the 
placard  from  us.  They  cursed  us  to  our  faces,  slandered  us  in  the  most  oppro- 
brious language,  and  finally  began  to  throw  dirt  at  us.  Not  satisfied  with  this, 
some  went  to  the  fields  to  get  filth  to  pelt  us  with.  I  escaped  with  only  a  little 
dry  dirt  thrown  at  me,  though  some  of  the  young  men  urged  the  women  to  throw 
me  into  the  pond.  I  never  saw  such  furious  women  ;  they  snatched  at  anything 
and  everything  to  throw  at  me.  One  of  the  younger  women  railed  at  me  in  these 
words  :  "  Who  asked  you  to  come  to  our  village?  You  have  no  business  here." 
She  forgot  that  about  200  of  her  clan  were  in  America.  Five  of  our  party  were 
terribly  bespotted ;  their  caps,  clothes,  and  even  faces  were  one  mass  of  dirt. 
The  women  seemed  verily  beside  themselves.  For  a  time  I  feared  for  the  lives 
of  some  of  our  party  and  that  our  baggage  would  be  stolen.  The  last  man  who 
escaped  was  Yung  Chan,  whom  the  villagers  really  wanted  to  catch,  and  he  came 
near  not  being  able  to  get  away. 

We  were  glad  when  we  found  ourselves  unharmed  and  at  a  safe  distance  from 
the  village.  But  what  a  sight  we  were  !  During  the  fray  the  gong  was  beaten, 
calling  other  villagers  to  come  and  help  destroy  us.  The  men  urged  on  the 
women  to  do  their  worst,  and  they  did  it.  Seldom  have  I  seen  such  an  uproar,  and 
of  course  we  were  "  killed,"  "  drowned,"  "  hanged,"  "  cut  to  pieces,"  "  beheaded  " 
(as  far  as  words  went)  a  hundred  times.  We  held  a  council,  the  result  of  which 
was  my  taking  four  of  the  men  who  were  thus  decorated  with  mud  to  San  Ming 
city,  where  I  wished  to  give  the  mandarin  an  object  lesson  that  could  not  be 
questioned  as  to  what  his  people  had  done.  Unfortunately  the  mandarin  was 
not  at  home,  and  the  next  day  we  walked  some  seven  miles  to  find  him.  He 
was  not  very  anxious  to  see  us,  but  I  presented  my  four  men  to  him,  and  he 
again  promised  to  punish  the  elders  of  the  village  and  to  render  us  full  satisfac- 
tion. But  will  he  do  it?  I  have  determined  to  give  him  no  rest  until  he  does 
attend  to  the  matter. 


Scenes  in  South  China. 


The  third  picture  represents  a  scene  from  ai  tual  life.     It  shows  our  Christian 

salt-fish  dealer.  I  Ie  is  weighing  some  salt  fish,  while  another  of  (Kir  Christum-, 
st. mils  near  him  with  a  string  of  cash  thrown  over  his  shoulder  and  a  basket  in 
his  hand.  This  fish  dealer  goes  to  different  markets,  and  he  has  secured  quite  a 
reputation  for  having  good  salt  fish.  He  always  has  a  few  copies  of  the  Gospel 
with  him,  so  that  when  his  fish  are  disposed  of  he  sells  the  Scriptures. 

Some  little  time  ago  a  few  wicked  men  stole  his  fish  and  the  Gospels  as  well, 
ami  when  the  matter  was  reported  to  the  authorities,  the  magistrate  did  not 
believe  that  he  sold  Scriptures.  But  such  was  the  actual  fact.  He  has  led  quite 
a  number  of  Chinese  to  give  up  idol  worship,  and  until  recently,  has  held  a  serv- 
ice in  his  own  village,  instructing  the  little  band  of  Christians.     Some  time  ago 


THE    CHRISTIAN    SALT-FISH    DEALER. 


the  village  women  beat  his  wife  for  her  faith  in  Christ,  so  that,  for  the  present, 
the  Christians  have  not  assembled  themselves  together,  as  the  village  elders  made 
a  great  ado  about  their  meeting.  All  the  Christians,  however,  remain  firm,  and 
the  little  company  of  believers  keep  pretty  well  together.  It  is  a  time  of  trial 
for  them,  but  let  us  hope  the  Lord  will  soon  deliver  them  out  of  the  hand  of 
their  enemies.  One  of  the  greatest  trials  of  this  faithful  fish  dealer  is  that  his 
eldest  son  is  not  a  Christian,  and  he  invites  many  an  earnest  Christian  to  talk  to 
him  so  that  he  may  accept  the  truth.  At  the  beginning  of  this  year  his  son 
virtually  promised  that  next  year  he  would  become  a  Christian.  May  he  keep 
his  promise  and  thus  rejoice  the  heart  of  his  father ! 


THE   "CELESTIAL"   BEGGAR. 

BY    REV.    HARLAN"    P.    BEACH. 


China  is  not  the  land  of  careful  statisticians.  Her  census-takers  are  ignorant 
of  the  value  of  social  statistics,  and  hence  a  thousand  questions  which  an  enter- 
prising foreigner  wishes  answered  must  remain  unanswered.  A  traveler  landing  on 
Chinese  shores,  especially  if  he  visits  only  southern  cities,  will  be  as  much  struck 
by  the  number  and  misery  of  the  leper  and  beggar  classes  as  by  anything  he  sees. 
;'  How  many  are  there  in  the  whole  empire,  if  the  one  province  of  Canton  can 
furnish  so  many  ?  "  he  asks.  But  he  asks  in  vain.  His  inquiries  about  the  life 
of  those  poor  unfortunates  can  be  more  fully  answered. 

True  leprosy  is  confined  to  the  southern  portion  of  the  empire,  and  more 
lepers  are  to  be  seen  near  Canton  than  elsewhere.  Attacked  by  the  dread  dis- 
ease, his  family  forthwith  drive  him  forth  as  an  outcast,  to  dwell  in  filthy 
lazarettos  with  others  of  his  kind.  The  dishonesty  of  the  keepers  deprives  the 
inmates  of  much  of  their  food,  and  hence  they  are  forced  to  go  to  the  city  gates 
and  other  public  places  and  ask  alms.  The  sight  of  these  wretches,  portions  of 
whose  hands  or  feet  are  sloughed  off,  is  enough  to  awaken  pity  without  the  usual 
beggar's  wail. 

The  ordinary  mendicant  is  well  represented  in  the  cut  of  a  group  of  beggars 
on  the  next  page,  reproduced  from  a  Peking  photograph.  Of  the  six  figures, 
the  blind  boy  on  the  right  and  the  two  men  at  the  left  are  the  oftenest  seen. 
The  old  man  in  the  centre,  with  a  shallow  basket  in  his  lap,  is  one  of  the  fre- 
quenters of  gruel-kitchens  connected  with  a  few  of  the  Buddhist  temples. 
Thither  he  goes  in  the  morning  and  receives  his  dole  of  thin  millet  gruel,  after 
which  he  repairs  to  some  crowded  thoroughfare,  on  the  side  of  which  he  kneels 
with  basket  before  him  appealing  for  cash. 

The  younger  beggars  are  a  public  nuisance.  They  demand  in  polite  language 
that  "the  practicer  of  virtue,  the  great  and  venerable  sir,  bestow  upon  them 
one  cash."  If  a  single  cash  is  given, — a  twelfth  of  a  cent,  —  the  beggar  falls 
back  and  asks  no  more.  If  one  does  not  understand  the  custom  and  gives 
several  cash,  he  is  followed  and  forced  by  howls  and  cries  to  give  more  still. 
Sometimes  a  semi-respectablity  is  gained  by  carrying  two  slips  of  wood  attached 
together  by  a  cord.  The  possessor  takes  up  his  station  before  a  shop  and  with 
the  clappers  plays  an  accompaniment  to  a  rude  ditty  sung  in  a  falsetto  voice. 
If  trade  is  dull,  the  merchant  allows  him  to  sing  some  time  before  giving  a  cash, 
partly  to  discourage  him  from  coming  again,  and  partly  to  keep  away  the  next 
beggar,  who  may  not  be  musical,  but  will  rely  upon  his  abject,  crouching  attitude 
and  doleful  moans  for  moving  his  audience.  Hard-hearted  merchants  are  some- 
times brought  to  terms  in  heroic  fashion.  The  beggar  will  dash  his  head  against 
a  wall  until  it  bleeds,  and  then  threaten  to  kill  himself,  in  which  event  the  mer- 
chant would  be  held  accountable  for  his  death. 


The  "I  elestial"  /' 


"5 


Such  a  life  is,  at  best,  full  of  suffering,  but  it  is  especially  so  with  religious  men- 
dicants. A  priest,  for  example,  wishes  money  to  repair  his  temple.  He  may 
thrust  a  skewer  through  his  cheek  and  out  of  his  mouth,  and  refuse  to  remove  it 
until  the  money  is  given  ;  or  he  will  pierce   his  arm   with  a   number  of  rods   to 


which  weights  are  attached,  and  go  about  begging  in  that  condition.  Near  one 
of  the  temples  in  Peking  there  was,  until  recently,  a  small  brick  cell  within  which 
a  priest  was  walled  up.  He  remained  there  night  and  day  for  three  years,  when 
his  scheme  had  secured  the  requisite  funds  and  he  was  released. 

Winter  is  naturally  the  foe  of  the  beggar  class.     Tattered  sacking  only  half- 


226  The  "Celestial"  Beggar. 

covering  the  limbs  affords  but  scanty  protection  against  biting  winds,  and  a  cold 
morning  in  a  large  city  reveals  frozen  corpses  under  porches  and  doorways 
where  the  poor  wretches  try  to  find  a  shelter  from  the  bitter  cold.  But  such 
a  day  is  also  a  harvest-time  for  the  survivors  of  the  night.  They  rub  their  skin 
thoroughly  with  arsenic,  which  enables  them  to  endure  cold,  and  then  stand 
with  exposed  limbs,  howling  as  if  nearly  frozen.  Cash  flows  in  rapidly  and  nat- 
urally. Sometimes  such  a  bowl  as  the  second  man  from  the  left  in  the  picture 
is  carrying  is  filled  with  coals.  The  owner  than  squats  over  it,  pulls  his  rags 
about  him,  and  shivers  as  if  at  the  point  of  death.  All  but  the  initiated  are 
moved  with  pity. 

A  worse,  though  less  common  foe  than  winter  is  the  law,  or  rather  a  perver- 
sion of  it.  A  murder  may  be  committed  and  the  culprit  cannot  be  found. 
Some  one  must  die  for  the  crime,  and  a  beggar  may  be  seized  and  examined  in 
the  style  of  the  two  kneeling  men  in  the  illustration  of  a  court  of  justice  on  the 
next  page.  He  is  not  guilty,  and  says  so ;  but  torture,  such  as  the  bastinado, 
kneeling  on  chains,  being  hung  by  the  thumbs,  etc.,  finally  obliges  him  to  confess 
a  crime  of  which  he  is  not  guilty,  and  he  is  beheaded.  No  jury  is  there  to 
protect  him,  but  might  makes  right,  and  there  is  one  less  beggar  to  ask  for  aid. 

Does  not  the  government  try  to  alleviate  the  misery  of  this  large  class  ?  you 
ask.  To  some  extent  it  does.  A  species  of  poor-tax  is  collected  by  the  beggars 
themselves,  in  the  manner  already  described.  A  headman,  or  king  of  the  beg- 
gars, has  them  in  charge,  and  assigns  them  to  certain  wards  of  the  city.  Some- 
times shopkeepers  pay  him  a  fixed  sum  per  annum,  and  he  forbids  his  people 
from  troubling  them.  So  at  weddings  and  funerals,  where  a  horde  of  beggars 
would  be  an  annoyance,  immunity  can  be  secured  by  the  payment  of  a  fee  to 
their  "king."  But  the  population  is  so  large  and  competition  so  sharp  that 
the  government  can  do  but  little  to  regulate  and  diminish  pauperism.  This  is 
particularly  true  in  the  case  of  victims  of  the  opium  habit,  which  each  year  adds 
multitudes  to  the  pauper  class. 

As  has  been  said,  Buddhism  is  doing  a  little  to  help  the  poor  by  opening  gruel- 
kitchens  for  a  few  months  of  the  year.  In  the  south  a  few  old  and  crippled 
beggars  are  provided  with  homes ;  but  in  general  none  cares  for  them.  The 
late  Rev.  J.  Crossette  was  the  only  missionary  doing  systematic  work  for  this 
class.  A  home  for  beggars  was  opened  in  Peking,  at  the  expense  of  the  Epis- 
copal Mission  located  there,  and  Mr.  Crossette  gave  his  time  to  the  trying  work. 
Sleeping  and  eating  with  them,  wearing  Chinese  clothes  scarcely  superior  to 
theirs,  they  learned  in  the  warmth  and  cheer  of  his  beggars'  home  something 
of  the  love  of  Christ  which  shone  forth  so  conspicuously  in  their  friend.  When 
he  died,  they  felt  that  the  ideal  saint  had  left  them  forever. 

Other  missionaries  have  done  much  individual  work  for  beggars.  One  of  our 
North  China  preachers,  and  in  a  sense,  our  first  martyr,  began  life  as  a  beg- 
gar, in  childhood  having  been  carried  about  half-naked  to  awaken  sympathy  on 
cold  winter  days.  Another  dear  saint,  "  Hoopoe  Venerable  Lady  "  of  Tung-cho, 
is  a  bright  jewel  plucked  from  the  filth  of  a  beggar's  life,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
ornaments  of  our  church.  Christianity  is  ever  doing  its  blessed  work  of  trans- 
ferring Lazarus,  full  of  sores,  from  beggars'  miseries  to  an  honored  seat  at  the 
Master's  Banquet  House  of  Love. 


The  "  Celestial"  Beg 


227 


CONFUCIUS  AND  HIS  SON  OF  THE  SEVENTIETH  GENERATION. 


It  was  in  1644,  while  our  fathers  were 
laying  the  foundations  of  a  Christian  State 
in  New  England,  that  the  Manchu  emperors 
took  the  throne  of  China.  But  it  was  in 
the  time  of  Ezra,  the  Hebrew  reformer  who 
rebuilt  Jerusalem,  551  years  B.C.,  that  Con- 
fucius, the  Chinese  sage,  was  born  in 
Yenchou,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Shantung.  His  father,  who  was  a 
district  magistrate,  died  when  Confucius  was 
three  years  old,  and  it  was  his  mother  who 
trained  him  up.  Even  in  youth  he  was 
remarkable  for  his  gravity  and  his  knowledge 
lantern  .  bearer.  of  ancient    learning,   so    that    when    he   was 

twenty  years  old,  a  year  after  his  marriage,  he  was  intrusted    with    a    revenue 
office,  and  afterwards  was  made  supervisor  of  fields  and  herds. 

When  Confucius  was  twenty-three,  his  mother  died,  and  according  to  ancient 
custom  he  immediately  dropped  all  active  employments  to  mourn  for  her  three 
years.  Meanwhile  he  devoted  himself  to  study ;  the  only  "  study,"  however, 
was  then  as  now  the  examination  of  the  ancient  writings.  At  the  age  of  thirty 
Confucius  was  already  in  repute  as  a  teacher.  His  king  sent  him  to  the  impe- 
rial court,  and  on  his  return  his  scholars  increased  in  numbers,  and  his  fame  was 
spread  abroad.  Public  opinion  began  to  be  influenced  by  his  example,  and  dis- 
ciples flocked  to  him  from  all  parts  of  the  land.  Amid  the  disorder  and  misery 
of  his  province,  produced  by  the  struggles  of  three  rival  families  to  gain  suprem- 
acy, Confucius  remained  neutral.  When  the  civil  strife  ended  in  the  flight  of 
the  rebels,  he  was  made  magistrate  of  the  town  of  Chung-tu  and  "  minister  of 
crime."  He  was  now  fifty  years  old,  and  he  carried  on  the  affairs  of  state  with 
such  wisdom  and  success  that  other  provinces  began  to  dread  the  growing  power 
of  Ting,  his  sovereign.  In  order  to  lessen  it,  a  neighboring  king  seduced  Ting 
from  the  paths  of  sobriety  and  morality  by  tempting  gifts.  This  scheme  was  so 
successful  that  the  young  monarch  ended  by  driving  Confucius  from  his  councils 
into  private  life.  He  left  home  and  traveled  from  place  to  place,  with  as  many 
disciples  as  chose  to  follow.  Sometimes  he  was  applauded,  sometimes  perse- 
cuted. At  the  age  of  sixty-eight  he  returned  and  gave  his  time  to  completing 
his  edition  of  the  classics,  still  teaching  his  now  large  band  of  scholars,  until  his 

228 


Confucius  (iiitl  his  Sou  of  the  Seventieth  Generation. 


229 


death  at  the  age  of  seventy-three,  in   the  year    1.78   b.i  .      \   t.-w   <\.w    before  he 

died  he  walked  trebly  about  his  house,  sighing, — 

••  The  greal  mountain  is  I  in  iken 
The  stron-  beam  is  throw  n  down ! 
The  wise  man   withers  like  a  plant!'' 


TEM°LE    OF    CONFUCIUS. 


He  left  a  single  descendant,  his  grandson,  Tze-sze,  through  whom  the  succession 

has  been  transmitted   to   the  present   day.      Confucius   stands   before  his  country- 


230  Confucius  and  his  Son  of  the  Seventieth  Generation. 

men  as  a  sage  and  a  demigod,  and  his  posterity,  whatever  their  character,  receive 
all  honor.  None  of  the  hereditary  dignities  existing  previous  to  the  Manchu 
conquest  were  recognized,  except  those  attached  to  his  family.  A  letter  from 
our  missionary,  Mr.  Ament,  of  North  China,  dated  December  8,  1888,  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  reverence  paid  to  an  unworthy  representative  of  the 
far-descended  house  of  Confucius. 

"  While  in  Cho-Chou  "  writes  Mr.  Ament,  "  we  were  favored  with  a  good  view 
of  the  lineal  descendant  of  Confucius  in  the  seventieth  generation.  He  is  a 
young  man  about  twenty  years  of  age,  and  has  just  been  to  Peking  to  celebrate 
his  marriage.  As  he  is  the  first  subject  in  the  empire,  outranking  all  princes  and 
nobles  except  those  of  royal  blood,  he  travels  with  great  display,  wholly  of  course 
at  imperial  expense.  He,  his  mother,  and  his  bride  were  carried  in  blue  sedan- 
chairs  with  eight  bearers,  each  preceded  by  a  company  of  soldiers  and  an  officer 
who  carried  the  emperor's  passport  strapped  carefully  on  his  back,  so  arranged 
that  the  royal  yellow  silk  document  was  visible  to  all.  An  immense  train  of 
horses  and  carts  followed  in  the  rear. 

"  Nothing  could  exceed  the  perfect  respect  and  reverence  with  which  this 
holy  man  with  the  blood  of  the  great  Confucius,  '  the  Perfect  One,'  flowing  in 
his  veins  is  regarded  by  all  classes  of  the  people.  Though  the  streets  were 
lined  with  people,  hardly  a  word  was  spoken  or  a  motion  made  as  the  procession 
went  past.  This  boy  has  a  nation  at  his  feet.  Notwithstanding  his  ancestry  and 
the  high  honors  paid  him,  the  boy  is  a  degraded  opium-smoker,  and  his  kindred, 
I  am  told,  are  in  a  state  of  great  moral  decay.  But  as  an  advertisement  of 
Confucianism  he  is  a  great  success.  Princes  struggle  for  a  glance  at  him  or  a 
word  with  him,  and  all  classes  count  it  an  honor  to  have  him  pass  through  their 
borders.  It  would  take  hardier  and  more  substantial  virtue  than  Confucianism 
can  create  to  endure  the  weakening  influence  of  seventy  generations  of  mental 
and  physical  inactivity." 

The  leading  features  of  the  teaching  of  Confucius  are  subordination  to  supe- 
riors and  fair  dealing  with  our  fellowmen.  Entering  into  even  trifling  details,  he 
inculcates  the  duties  owed  by  children  to  their  parents,  wives  to  their  husbands, 
subjects  to  their  prince,  etc. 

"  His  Four  Books  and  Five  Classics,"  says  Mr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  "  would 
not,  so  far  as  regards  their  intrinsic  character  in  comparison  with  other  produc- 
tions, be  considered  anything  more  than  curiosities  in  literature  for  their  antiquity 
and  language,  were  it  not  for  the  incomparable  influence  they  have  exerted  over 
so  many  millions  of  minds.  The  explanation  of  this  influence  is  to  be  found  in 
their  use  as  textbooks  in  the  schools  and  competitive  examinations."  They  are 
free  from  allusions  to  whatever  debases  and  vitiates  the  heart,  and  this  is  a 
redeeming  quality  not  to  be  undervalued.  The  furniture  of  a  Chinese  schoolroom 
consists  merely  of  a  desk  and  stool  for  each  pupil,  a  raised  seat  for  the  master, 
and  a  tablet  or  inscription  on  the  wall  dedicated  to  Confucius  and  the  god  of 
letters.  The  sage  is  styled  the  "  teacher  and  pattern  of  all  ages,"  and  incense  is 
constantly  burned  in  honor  of  them  both. 

Confucius  makes  no  reference  to  any  accountability  to  an  unseen  power. 
His  own  high  rule  of  conduct  has  therefore  failed  to  make  his  followers  holy,  or 


(  onfucius  and  his  Son  of  the  Seventieth  Generation. 


231 


to  misc  them  in  the  scale  of  being.  As  an  example  of  what  is  now  done  in 
China,  where  Confucianism  has  had  sway  for  more  than  2,400  years,  we  quote 
again  from   Mr.  Ament's  letter.     He  had  just  visited  a  Chinese  prisoner.     "We 

saw  the  iron  chain  hanging  about  his  neck  and  observed  his  generally  pitiable 
condition.  He  was  dressed  in  the  thinnest  garments,  suitable  for  warm  weather 
only,  and  had  eaten  nothing  for  two  days.      His  friends  SU(  ceeded   in  seeing  him 

after  he  had  hern  imprisoned    four  days,  and  reported    that    he   had  received  no 


A    CHINESE    COURT    OF    JUSTICE. 

food  or  water  in  all  that  time,  and  his  tongue  was  so  swollen  that  he  could  hardly 
speak.  Dante's  Inferno  is  a  feeble  representation  of  the  horrors  of  a  Chinese 
prison,  reeking  with  filth,  the  victims  chained  in  the  most  uncomfortable  attitudes, 
and  not  fed  or  watered  unless  their  friends  come  forward  with  a  very  liberal  sum 
of  money,  which  in  most  cases  they  are  utterly  unable  to  do.  Only  in  the  last 
extremity,  when  life  is  almost  extinct,  are  the  prisoners  given  food  or  water 
enough  to  keep  body  and  soul  together." 
'  Confucianism  is  known  by  its  fruits. 


HELPER  HO. 


BY    REV.    C.    A.    STANLEY,    OF   TIENTSIN,    CHINA. 


A  recent  mail  brought  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Ho  Sheng  Ching, 
of  Pang  Chia  village,  Shantung.  His  loss  to  the  station  is  as  the  falling  of  a 
strong  pillar,  and  I  hardly  know  how  to  express  my  own  sense  of  bereavement. 
I  well  remember  my  first  meeting  with  Mr.  Ho,  in  March,  1S72.  I  was  spend- 
ing a  few  days  with  the  Christians  at  the  village  of  Ti  Chi,  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy  miles  south  of  Tientsin,  when  an  invitation  came  through  a  native 
helper,  who  had  met  Mr.  Ho  a  few  times,  to  visit  his  village,  distant  about  eight 
miles.  I  spent  part  of  two  days  and  a  night  with  him.  He  was  known  as  a 
"  seeker  after  doctrine."  He  was  attentive,  respectful,  quiet  in  demeanor,  yet 
manifestly  in  earnest.  Attention  to  myself  and  the  neighbors  who  came  in  to 
"  hear  the  doctrine,"  that  is,  to  see  the  foreigner,  occupied  the  time  till  dinner 
was  served.  The  afternoon  was  given  to  reading  and  expounding  from  the  New 
Testament,  answering  questions,  and  free  conversation.  The  room  was  full  of 
comers  and  goers  most  of  the  time,  all  full  of  questions  concerning  foreign  lands 
and  customs,  in  which  Mr.  Ho  took  little  interest. 

Supper  over,  a  "  three-room  building  "  —  practically  one  room  about  30  x  12 
feet — was  filled  with  his  family,  relatives,  and  friends,  to  hear  the  more  formal 
expounding  of  the  "  new  sect."  At  one  end  of  the  room  were  a  square  table 
on  which  were  a  few  books  and  a  cottonseed  oil  lamp  that  made  darkness 
visible,  two  or  three  chairs  for  the  "  guest  men,"  and  some  rude  benches  for  the 
villagers,  while  in  the  dim  distance  were  the  women  of  the  household  on  the 
brick-platform  bed,  looking  like  spectres  in  the  darkness.  (These  latter  retired 
about  eleven  o'clock.)  Questions  and  conversation  followed  the  preaching  till 
after  midnight.  Then  the  large  room  became  my  bedroom,  but  not  until  the 
guest  was  "  between  the  blankets  "  and  the  question,  "  Does  the  pastor  wish  any- 
thing?" /r-negatived  from  this  retreat,  did  mine  hosts  of  the  Ho  family  retire. 
They  were  on  hand  betimes  in  the  morning,  "according  to  the  rules  of  propriety," 
to  render  all  required  assistance.  The  whole  scene  is  so  characteristic  of  Chinese 
hospitality  and  of  our  first  visit  to  new  places  that  somewhat  full  reference  is 
made  to  it.  The  next  day  was  occupied  much  as  the  night  had  been,  few  out- 
siders being  present.     The  curious  had  seen  —  and  gone  their  way. 

Mr.  Ho's  decision  was  made  at  that  time  and  he  at  once  desired  baptism. 
This  was  characteristic  of  the  man.  To  me  it  seemed  best  that  he  should  learn 
more  of  the  truth  and  get  a  clearer  conception  of  the  step  he  proposed  to  take. 
In  the  afternoon  I  went  to  Ti  Chi  for  the  Sabbath.  Mr.  Ho  came  to  worship  with 
us  on  Sunday  and  again  pressed  for  baptism.     Imperfect  knowledge,  connection 


Helper  Ho. 


with  the  principal  family  of  the  village,  and  difficulty  of  rendering  assistance 
or  encouragement  incaseof  opposition  influenced  me  still  to  d  ethis  step. 

During  the  week  1  returned  to  Tientsin.     He  knew  that  sickness  in  my  family 
rendered  probable  my  speedy  return  to  the  Unite. 1  States,  and  hen<  e  it  nr; 

long  before  he  made  the  journey  to  Tientsin.  170  miles,  to  see  me  before  1  left 


A    STREET    IN    PEKING. 

and  again  prefer  his  desire.  The  points  he  urged  were  that  "he  knew  no  other 
'pastor;  "'  "  others  might  not  have  time  to  visit  his  distant  place  ;"  "I  would 
not  return  for  a  long  time,  possibly  not  at  all."  Confident  of  his  sincerity  from 
the  first,  duty  now  seemed  plain,  and  he  returned  home  rejoicing  in  having 
received  the  seal  of  a  follower  of  the  divine  Master. 

A  few  incidents  will    more  fully  illustrate    the   character   of  the    man.     He 
received  about  a  year's  preparation  for  preaching  during  one  winter  in  the  train- 


234  Helper  Ho. 

ing  school  at  Tung-cho,  and  two  or  three  winters  in  the  station-class  at  Tientsin. 
The  two  or  three  months  of  instruction  at  Tientsin,  crowded  between  fall  and 
spring  tours  and  given  by  one  engaged  in  daily  chapel  preaching,  seemed 
inadequate  for  such  a  case,  but  his  progress  in  the  six  months  at  Tung-cho 
was  so  unsatisfactory  that  he  was  not  permitted  to  return.  He  was  not  under- 
stood nor  appreciated.  Over  forty  years  of  age,  eager  to  understand  the  Bible 
and  tell  others  of  the  Saviour,  he  had  no  heart  to  "  waste  time  "  on  other 
matters.  Incidentally,  whatever  illustrated  and  enforced  Bible  truth  had  its 
value,  but  to  his  mind,  at  his  age  and  with  his  desire,  not  as  a  study.  "  This 
one  thing  I  do." 

On  one  of  my  tours  it  was  reported  that  the  little  mud-image  in  a  niche  in  the 
wall  under  the  covered  entrance  to  Mr.  Ho's  yard  had  not  been  removed  and 
that  this  image  must  have  been  left  as  an  evidence  to  his  friends  that  he  was 
not  a  Christian  ;  that  is,  that  he  was  only  following  us  for  gain.  I  looked  and, 
sure  enough,  found  the  "  door  guardian  "  on  duty,  but  evidently  much  neglected. 
I  alluded  to  it  incidentally  in  conversation.  Brother  Ho  expressed  surprise,  for  he 
had  told  some  one  to  remove  it.  Absorbed  with  the  greater  things  of  his  new 
life,  he  had  forgotten  this  little  matter  and  so  it  served  as  a  handle  for  doubt  and 
an  accusation. 

When  the  famine  of  1878-79  came  and  the  way  opened  for  relief  on  a  small 
scale,  brother  Ho  placed  his  house  and  anything  I  needed  at  my  disposal. 

There  I  organized  the  relief  work,  with  the  efficient  aid  of  himself  and  other 
helpers,  and  his  home  became  the  centre  of  operations  which  extended  over 
about  six  months  of  time,  and  gradually  covered  a  radius  of  over  six  miles  of 
territory.  Over  eighteen  thousand  persons  whose  names  were  entered  received 
aid,  and  twice  or  thrice  that  number  were  directly  benefited  in  the  families 
assisted.  Mr.  Ho  entered  with  great  earnestness  and  good  judgment  into  the 
evangelistic  efforts  that  followed  the  famine  relief,  to  gather  in  the  spiritual 
harvest.  His  was  the  moving  and  guiding  spirit,  and  he  was  the  burden-bearer 
in  the  effort  which  resulted  last  year  in  a  neat  brick  sanctuary  for  the  church  that 
had  hitherto  worshiped  in  the  mud-rooms  of  his  own  family's  providing,  which 
had  overflowed  and  been  enlarged,  more  than  once,  by  knocking  holes  in  parti- 
tions. It  was  no  narrow  benevolence  that  accomplished  so  much.  And  in  the 
results  that  followed  the  famine  work,  in  the  more  than  three  hundred  members 
detached  from  Tientsin  when  the  new  station  was  formed  in  1881,  in  the  growth 
since  then  of  the  little  village  churches,  and  in  the  extension  of  the  work,  brother 
Ho's  life,  labors,  and  influence  must  be  counted  as  a  constant  and  important 
factor.  He  was  one  of  the  Christians  of  whose  sincerity  and  genuine  conversion 
I  never  had  occasion  to  doubt.  To  the  unbelieving  question,  "  Do  you  think 
that  any  Chinaman  has  been  converted  ?  "  I  would  let  Ho  Sheng  Ching  be  the 
answer  and  reprover  as  well  —  and  hundreds  more  of  like  character. 

Dr.  Porter  writes  from  Shantung  of  the  sickness  and  death  of  Mr.  Ho.  "Jesus 
is  in  my  heart,"  he  said,  and  he  was  ready  to  go.  A  Christian  burial  followed, 
attended  by  a  large  company  of  sincere  mourners.  On  the  next  Sabbath  a 
memorial  service  was  held  in  the  crowded  chapel,  and  the  text  of  the  discourse 
was  chosen  as  fitly  describing  the  character  of  the  man  :  "  Whether  we  live  we 


Helper  Ho, 


235 


live  unto  the  Lord,  and  whether  we  die  vee  die  unto  the  Lord."  Dr.  Portet  adds : 
"  1  did  not  suppose  I  could  esteem  and  love  one  of  an  alien  race  so  much.  But 
he  was  not  an  alien.  He  was  and  is  of  '  the  family  of  God.'  I  I-  had  a  supreme 
love  for  that  America  of  which  he  had  learned  so  much.     It  shames  one  to  think 


that  his  exalted  conception  must  suffer  loss  before  the  reality.  That  there  should 
be  bad  men  in  America  seemed  to  him  beyond  belief.  I  speak  of  this  to  point 
the  contrast  between  the  thought  of  a  Christian  Chinaman  and  the  thought  of 
the  civilized  heathen  in  America." 


A  CHINESE  SUNDAY. 


BY    REV.    H.    P.    PERKINS,    OF    LIN    CHING,    NORTH    CHINA. 


Not  one  of  our  Sundays,  but  a  heathen  Sunday.  You  will  soon  see  how 
different  they  are.  Ours  are  regular  and  come  every  seventh  day,  but  theirs 
only  when  some  temple  fair  and  festival  is  to  be  held.  Here  are  a  few  pictures 
of  such  a  temple,  which  is  having  its  winter  festival. 


EATING    STALLS    AT    TEMPLE. 

The  first  shows  you  the  outside  grounds  of  the  temple,  whose  buildings  you 
partly  see  over  the  high  wall.  Half  the  people  of  Lin  Ching  city  have  come  to 
attend  this  all-day  meeting ;  in  fact  it  lasts  three  days.  In  the  picture  we  see  a 
few  of  them.  They  seem  to  be  eating  and  drinking,  either  sitting  on  the  ground 
or  standing  under  those  large  umbrella  tents. 

Our  honest  friend  who  stands  so  near  us  has  got  a  day  off  from  his  hard 

outdoor  work,  and  is  bound  to  see  all  he  can.     Perhaps  if  he  gets  time  enough 

in  the  future  to  learn  about  the  Bible  he  may  become  a  Christian  ;  and  I  think  he 

looks  like  one  who  would  hold  on  to  the  truth  if  it  really  entered  his  heart. 

236 


A  Chinese  Sunday, 


237 


The  chief  god  of  this  temple  is  supposed  to  be  a  great  policeman,  who  i 

his  eye  on  the  people  when  living  and  decides  when  they  ought  to  die  and 
appear  before  him.  Then  he  sends  out  two  or  three  of  his  police  devils,  who 
seize  the  departing  soul  and  bring  it  before  him  lor  its  sentence  of  punishment: 
for  nearly  all  the  Chinese  believe  in  a  future  punishment  of  sin,  while  but  a 
small  part  have  yet  heard  that  the  true  God  is  willing  to  forgive  the  sins  of 
all  who  truly  repent.  Now  these  heathen  judge  of  their  gods  by  them- 
and  they  suppose  that  they  are  quite  like  all  the  officials  they  ever  knew.  Hen<  e 
they  believe  that  this  police  spirit  will,  if  he  receives  large  bribes,  make  their 
punishment  much  lighter  than  it  really  ought  to  be. 

But  how  shall  they  send  him,  living  in  the  spirit  world,  money?     I  will  tell 


PAPER     MONEY    SELLER. 


you.  Many  of  them  know  how  to  make  make-believe  money  out  of  paper. 
Some  of  it  is  cut  round  like  cash,  while  some  is  made  into  shapes  like  the  blocks 
of  silver  and  gold  which  the  rich  bankers  use.  For  a  few  cents  worth  of  real 
money  one  can  buy  a  peck  or  two  of  this  spirit  money,  and  this  he  brings  to  the 
temple  and  burns  before  the  god,  and  feels  that  he  has  done  a  pretty  shrewd 
thing  in  laying  up  so  much  treasure  in  Hades. 

Here  is  a  money-seller  just  crossing  the  river  to  go  to  the  fair  to  which  we 
are  also  going.  I  feel  quite  sure  that  this  man  does  n't  burn  any  of  these  blocks 
of  paper  silver  that  shine  so  brightly  ;  not  he.  He  would  be  only  too  glad  to  sell 
all  in  his  net  for  a  string  of  cash,  and  wouid  hurry  home  to  make  another  load. 

But  we  must  go  inside  and  see  what  their  worship  is  like.     We  first  enter  the 


238 


A  Chinese  Sunday. 


temple  courtyard,  but  will  find  it  hard  to  edge  our  way  through  the  crowd  into 
that  wide  door  over  which  you  see  the  four  characters  which  say,  "  Gods  Help 
Good  Men." 

If  we  could  only  see  inside  that  room,  we  should  discover  that  it  is  crammed 
full  of  men  and  women,  of  whom  all  in  front  of  the  idol  are  kneeling  and  bump- 
ing their  heads  on  the  brick  floor,  while  their  paper  cash  and  silver  and  gold  are 
burning  in  a  great  basin  just  before  him.  They  believe,  with  one  of  our  poets, 
that "  prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire,"  and  say  nothing  to  the  god  :  for  does  he 
not  know  that  the  only  reason  why  he  is  getting  these  great  heaps  of  money  is 
that  he  should  make  as  small  as  possible  the  punishments  of  these  his  worshipers  ? 
The  matter  is  too  simple  to  need  any  explanation  on  their  part.     Do  you  not 


TEMPLE     WORSHIPERS. 


think  they  need  new  hearts,  so  that,  instead  of  having  a  little  fear  of  punishment 
for  sin,  they  might  very  much  dislike  the  sin  itself  ? 

Look  again  at  this  great  crowd.  You  see  the  children  go  to  the  temples,  and 
there  are  a  good  many  there  that  you  cannot  see.  Do  you  see  the  man  nearly 
in  the  centre  of  the  picture,  looking  rather  crossly  at  us  ?  He  is  a  Confucian 
scholar,  and  perhaps  a  schoolteacher,  and  he  looks  as  if  he  wanted  to  say  to  us, 
What  are  you  foreigners  doing  here  ?  We  can  turn  the  question  around  and  ask 
as  sharply,  Why  are  you  here?  Certain  it  is  that  he  has  not  come  to  pray. 
He  thinks  that  the  god  can  tell  that  he  is  not  one  of  the  common  people,  but 
a  scholar  and  a  teacher,  and  surely  will  not  have  the  bad  taste  to  be  severe  with 
him.     Perhaps  you  can  see  something  of  this  in  his  face. 


t  \  (  kinese  Sunday 


239 


And  now  that  they  have  caught  Bight  of  US  we  must  hurry  away,  for  we  are  of 
much  more  interest  than  are  their  mud  gods,  which  they  have  seen  at  least  twi<  e 
a  year  for  many  years. 

I  wish  we  could  find  some  of  the  men  who  came  here  to-day  clothed  in 
muslin  or  cheese-cloth.  You  see  that  most  of  the  people  have  on  all  their 
heavy  cotton  clothes,  for  it  is  very  cold  weather.  But  sometimes  during  the  fall 
or  winter  a  man  makes  a  vow  that  if  his  sick  father  or  mother  or  son  gets  well 
he  will  walk  all  the  way  from  his  village  to  this  temple,  on  this  day,  dressed 
in  the  thinnest  possible  clothing,  or  if  it  is  summer  that  he  will  do  the  same 
in  the  heaviest  furs  he  can  hire.  All  this  is  to  prove  to  the  god  his  sincerity,  and 
also,  I  suppose,  to  let  all  the  people  see  that  he  is  n't  ashamed  of  his  religion. 


AN     INQUIRY  MEETING 


But  here  we  are  outside  again.  The  inquiring  friends  have  followed  us.  As 
they  are  fairly  quiet  we  will  preach  to  them  a  little,  and  we  will  invite  them  to  call 
in  at  the  chapel  and  hear  more,  for  I  fear  most  of  them  at  present  are  taking  in 
more  with  their  eyes  than  their  ears.  I  notice  that  some  have  not  even  removed 
their  earcaps.  But  we  will  be  kind  and  gentle  with  them,  and  try  to  show  them 
that  we  are  wishing  to  do  them  good.  And  when  any  of  them  do  come  to  see 
us  we  will  tell  them  about  our  Sunday,  and  about  the  true  God  before  whom  they 
must  all  appear  and  be  judged,  and  how  he  loves  to  forgive  all  who  call  upon  him 
and  turn  from  their  sins.  Do  you  think  any  work  could  be  more  interesting  and 
useful  than  this? 


I  HOME  IN  THE  ING  HOK  MOUNTAINS  OF  CHINA. 


BY    RKV.    DWIGHT    GODDARD,    OF    FOOCHOW,    CHINA. 


Our  preacher  and  myself  started  out  awhile  ago  to  visit  one  of  our  Chris- 
tians whose  home  is  in  the  mountains  near  Ing  Hole.     His  home  is  like  that  of 
so  many  of  the  Christians  in  the  country 
districts  that  a  description  of  it  may  not 
be  uninteresting. 

We  take  with  us  as  we  start  a  handful  of 


HWA  SANG,  THE  VILLAGE  WHERE  THE  ENGLISH   MISSIONARIES  WERE    MURDERED,  AUGUST  I,  1895. 

tracts,  portions  of  Scripture,  and  hymns  to  sell,  if  we  can,  or  at  any  rate  read  and 
talk  about.  Our  preacher  is  pleasantly  greeted  on  every  hand,  and  even  strangers 
on  the  road,  with  old-fashioned  country  courtesy,  salute  us  and  ask  if  we  have 
"  eaten  our  rice  "  or  where  we  are  going. 

We  climb  up  through  the  valleys,  winding  in  and  out  along  the  edge  of  the 
rice  terraces,  on  roads  often  scarcely  a  foot  wide  that  serve  China  for  highways. 
Now  we  enjoy  a  smooth  road  and  more  frequently  a  very  bad  one,  according  as 


A  Home  in  the  Ing  Hok  Mountains  of  China.  24l 

some  man  has  been  led  to  do  a  work  of  merit  by  repairing  it.  At  la>t,  with  a 
turn  in  the  path  about  the  shoulder  of  the  range,  we  spy  a  <  lump  of  bamboos 
and  pines  that  is  like  an  oasis  on  the  bare.  Over-cultivated  mountain-side. 

In  the  midst  of  this  clump  is  the  home  of  our  chun  h  member.  We  exclaim 
at  once,  "  Why,  he  must  be  a  very  rich  man  to  have  so  large  a  house  I  "  Alas  I 
we  find  him  to  be  the  younger  brother  of  the  head  of  the  family,  and  the  house 
proves  to  be  a  village,  for  there  are  twenty  "  chows  "  (kitchen  stoves)  that  tell 
the  number  of  families,  and  ninety  mouths,  but  all  of  one  family.  Over  the 
entrance  to  the  court  are  two  ornamental  signs  that  show  that  children  for  two 
generations  have  secured  the  first  degree  for  literary  merit. 

This  entrance  opens  into  a  quadrangle,  or  open  court,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
which  is  the  reception  room,  a  good-sized,  lofty  room,  open  in  front  to  sun  and 
rain,  but  sheltered  by  the  overhanging  roof.  At  the  end,  or  head,  of  the  room 
are  the  shrines  of  idols  and  ancestral  tablets,  with  lanterns  overhead,  and  on  the 
walls  are  hung  charts  and  banners  with  felicitous  expressions  of  welcome.  On 
either  side  of  this  room  and  also  on  the  other  sides  of  the  quadrangle  are  other 
rooms.  In  the  rear  are  passageways  leading  into  quadrangles  beyond,  whose 
rooms  are  used  for  kitchens,  sleeping  rooms,  and  barns ;  and  beyond  these  are 
further  passageways  which  lead  into  still  other  quadrangles  of  other  families  of 
this  one  huge  family. 

We  are  greeted  by  barking  dogs,  shouting  children,  a  few  men  and  curious 
women  appearing  at  all  the  doors  and  windows.  We  are  ushered  into  the  recep- 
tion room  and  offered  seats,  which  are  only  wooden  "  horses."  On  these  we 
attempt  to  seat  ourselves  near  the  foot  of  the  room.  Then  tea  is  at  once 
brought,  which  is  freshly  prepared  by  pouring  boiling  water  on  a  few  tea  leaves 
in  each  covered  cup.  Questions  and  answers  begin  to  pass  almost  before  we 
have  had  time  to  look  about. 

Alas  !  for  our  American  and  Christian  predilections  for  cleanliness  !  Every- 
thing is  filthy.  The  house  itself  was  a  fine  house  when  it  was  built,  but  no 
repairs  are  ever  made  and  it  is  never  cleaned,  so  that  smoke  and  dust  and  rub- 
bish collect  and  are  undisturbed.  It  being  harvest  time  for  wheat  and  tea,  the 
reception  room  itself  is  used  as  a  granary  ;  a  room  diagonally  opposite  in  the 
main  court  is  used  for  a  pig  pen,  and  another  for  storage  of  straw  and  brushwood. 
Within  this  same  court  is  a  big  buffalo  cow,  munching  coarse  grass.  In  the 
centre  of  the  court  is  a  pool  of  stagnant  water  with  a  green  scum  on  it.  The 
wall  is  half  tumbled  down,  and  hens,  chickens,  pigs,  dogs,  children,  cows,  ducks, 
goats,  babies  wander  about  in  equal  favor,  paying  no  attention  to  parlor,  guests, 
drying  tea  leaves,  rubbish,  or  mud  puddles. 

The  people  crowd  around  us,  not  one  neatly  dressed,  most  of  them  in  dirty. 
patched  garments,  but  they  are  all  smiling  a  welcome.  There  are  no  men  or 
boys  about,  for  they  are  in  the  fields  at  work,  but  any  number  of  babies,  children, 
and  women.  A  few  of  the  latter  show  by  the  paint  on  their  faces  and  their 
bound  feet  that  they  are  of  the  "  first  families."  They  all  use  this  reception 
room  in  common  ;  and  when  they  had  asked  the  usual  questions  about  how  much 
our  shoes  cost,  how  old  we  are,  and  what  our  surname  is,  they  remarked  on  the 
color  of  our  eyes  and  on  the  fact  that  9. young  man  has  a  mustache. 

Then  we  begin  to  edge  in  a  little  gospel.     I  have  the  preacher  read  from  one 


-42 


A  Home  in  the  Ing  Hok  Mountains  of  China. 


of  the  gospels,  say  John's  account  of  the  woman  of  Samaria.  Then  I  talk  a 
little  in  fragments  to  the  preacher,  and  he  enlarges  upon  it,  about  "  God  is  a 
Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."    Having 


gained  their  attention,  we  try  to  sell  them  the  book  for  eight  cash  (about  one 
half  a  cent),  because  they  so  quickly  forget  our  spoken  words,  but  they  read  the 
book  after  we  are  gone.     Then  we  sing  a  hymn,  which   they  like,  and  offer  a 


/  Home  in  the  Ing  Hok  Mountains  of  Liana. 


'43 


prayer.     Then  we  toll  them  when  the  next  Sabbath  is  and   urge   them   to  attend 
service. 

We  now  attempt  to  take  our  leave  ;  but  no.  they  will  not  listen  to  our  propo  I 
to  go.  The  church  member's  wife  is  preparing  food  for  us;  we  must  stop  and 
eat.  We  protest,  as  is  expected  of  us,  and  finally  compromise,  as  is  also 
expected,  by  accepting  a  single  bowl  of  ri(  e  >>r  vermicelli,  with,  perhaps,  a  fried 
egg  "ii  top,  which  is  supposed  to  be  a  delicacy  which  foreigners  particularly  like. 
Imagine  us  with  chopsticks  trying  to  eat  the  great   long   strings   of  vermicelli  ! 


COOKING    A    MEAL. 


Then  we  say  good-by  by  repeating,  "  Please  be  seated ;  please  be  seated."  And 
they  follow  us  out,  responding,  "  Walk  slowly ;  walk  slowly." 

We  remind  them  that  day  after  to-morrow  is  worship  day,  and  again  clasp  our 
own  hands  and  raise  them  in  front  of  the  face,  bowing  all  the  time.  We  turn 
and  go  for  a  few  steps,  and  then  repeat. 

It  is  from  homes  like  these,  far  scattered,  that  our  church  members  largely 
come,  one  from  here  and  another  from  there,  and  not  one  entirely  free  from 
the  effect  of  family  prejudice  and  petty  persecution,  in  spite  of  smooth  and 
kindly  welcome  to  us. 

Pray  for  them  that  they  may  have  grace  given  to  witness  a  good  confession  in 
it  all. 


BOYS   IN    CHINA. 


KV    RF.V.    FRANKLIN    M.    CHAPIN,    OF    LIN-CHING,    NORTH    CHINA. 


The  small  boy  in  China  is  very  much  like  other  small  boys.  He  does  n't 
care  to  attend  school,  and  he  does  love  to  go  to  the  theatre,  or  carry  a  paper 
horse  or  banner  at  a  funeral.  It  makes  no  difference  what  is  going  on,  he  is 
certain  to  be  there.  But  don't  suppose  that,  because  he  prefers  to  play  rather 
than  work,  life  is  one  long  holiday.     Far  from  it. 

There  is  the  beggar  boy.  Summer  or  winter  he  is  up  early  and  out  on  the 
road  watching  for  the  carts  or  litters  carrying  travelers  to  and  from  the  great 
cities.     He  hails  the  occupant  with  the  cry  :   "  Lao  yeh,  lao  yeh,  kei  wo  i  ko  cttien 


A    GRAINROOT    DIGGER. 


pa  ",•  that  is,  "Venerable  sir,  venerable  sir,  give  me  a  cash."  It  does  not  matter 
whether  the  traveler  is  old  or  young,  he  calls  him  old,  as  any  other  address 
would  not  be  respectful. 

Perhaps  the  traveler  does  not  give  at  once.  Then  the  boy  runs  ahead,  drops 
on  his  knees  for  an  instant,  knocks  his  head  to  the  ground,  and  scrambling  to 
his  feet  again  runs  after  the  cart  with  the  same  cry  as  before.  The  greater  part 
of  the  year  the  little  beggar  is  clad  only  in  a  suit  of  brown  which  nature  has 
provided.  Relays  of  these  little  fellows  are  seen  on  all  the  great  roads.  What 
becomes  of  them  when  they  get  too  large  to  beg,  who  knows? 

Another  boy  lives  on  a  farm.  Here  is  one  in  the  picture.  He  has  been  out 
in  the  springtime,  while  his  father  is  plowing,  digging  up  the  roots  of  the  grain. 


B(>vs  in  China. 


845 


They  are  in  that  basket  you  see  slung  on  his  shoulder,  and  he  Is  carrying  them 
home   to   burn   as  fuel.     He  looked   up   from   his  work   to   see    the   writ 
"foreign  devil,"  .is  he  would  call  us,  pointing  a  Kodak  at  him,  and  so  he 

started  for  home  in  a  hurry.     You  can  almost  see  the  scared  look  on  his  fa< 
he  made  the  best  time  possible  to  get  away. 

On  a  quiet  day  in  October  you  might  see  this  same  boy  climbing  some  willow 
or  elm  tree  to  whip  off  the  leaves,  lest,  being  blown  off  by  the  wind  and  carried 
to  some  one  else's  land,  his  family  should  not  get  them  for  fuel.  In  winter,  when 
the  days  are  short,  he  is  up  long  before  sunrise,  and  with  this  same  basket  on 
his  shoulder  will  patrol  the  main  highway  through  his  village,  hunting  by  the 
light  of  the  moon  for  manure.  The  cold  may  be  intense,  and  he  has  no  mittens, 
but  he  will  keep  his  hands  in  his  sleeves,  to  warm  them,  while  his  ears  are  pro- 
tected by  ear-tabs  made  specially  to  fit  them.  When  he  returns  home  for  his 
breakfast,  about  ten  o'clock,  the  room  seems  but  little  warmer  than  the  air  with- 
out.    The  windows  are  of  paper,  the  walls  are  black  with  smoke,  there  is  nc 


'' \f-::Vv ■■■■■:  ./tf     ./■:;'•'.  ->>:.  .  Al^'i 


^-'^feas^ 


L 


BURNING    PAPER    IMAGES. 

floor  but  the  ground,  and  no  bed  to  sleep  on  but  one  built  of  mud  brick.  Yet 
it  is  home  to  him,  and  he  learns  to  love  it  so  well  that  though  he  may  wander  to 
far-off  America  he  is  certain  to  look  back  with  a  longing  gaze  to  the  land  of  his 
childhood,  and  make  provision  to  be  buried  there  even  though  he  do  not  him- 
self live  to  return. 

The  next  picture  shows  you  a  group  of  boys  who  have  been  carrying  paper 
images  of  houses,  horses,  etc.,  in  a  funeral  procession,  and  now  they  have  got 
outside  the  city  they  are  burning  them,  while  the  procession  itself  and  the 
mourners  go  on  to  the  grave.  The  Chinese  believe  that  these  paper  likenesses 
of  horses,  houses,  etc.,  are  changed  into  real  ones  in  the  next  world.  Hence 
they  expend  no  little  money  to  buy  these  and  pieces  of  gilt  paper  which  repre- 
sent gold  and  silver,  and  the  one  who  is  dead  is  supposed  to  have  the  use  o* 
these  things  in  the  spirit  land. 


246  Boys  in  China. 

But  these  are  not  the  only  amusements  of  boys.  At  New  Year's  time  when 
every  Chinese  boy,  as  well  as  all  the  rest  of  the  nation,  has  a  grand  holiday, 
lasting  among  the  wealthy  for  months,  you  might  see  a  group  of  lads  in  front 
of  some  temple  playing  at  shuttlecock.  The  game  is  a  species  of  solitaire, 
since  there  is  only  one  player  at  a  time.  The  object  of  the  game  is  to  see  how 
many  times  the  player,  who  stands  on  one  foot,  can  knock  the  shuttlecock  into 
the  air  with  the  other  foot  without  its  once  falling  to  the  ground. 

During  the  leisure  of  spring  or  autumn  the  boys  go  to  the  theatre  No 
admittance  fee  is  charged  for  attending.  The  play  is  some  historic  scene  of 
ancient  times.  The  players,  dressed  in  costumes  of  that  period,  strut  up  and 
down  the  stage.  Their  clothes,  of  the  brightest  colors  to  be  found,  taken 
together  with  their  false  mustaches  are  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  the  small 
boy.  The  next  day,  and  possibly  for  a  week  after,  the  traveler  passing  that  way 
may  see  a  group  of  these  lads  acting  over  again  for  their  own  amusement  the 
scenes  and  striking  attitudes  of  the  players.  He  will  hear  them  talking  very 
loudly  and  in  pompous  tones,  strutting  like  so  many  turkeycocks,  attempting 
impossible  somersaults,  or  whirling  around  on  one  leg,  and  thrusting  a  cornstalk 
for  a  spear  at  some  imaginary  adversary ;  the  whole  pantomime  and  bluster 
reminding  one  of  what  the  American  small  boy  does  after  a  circus  has  gone 
through  the  town. 

But  the  greatest  holiday  of  all  is  his  wedding  day.  Previous  to  the  death  of 
his  father  no  boy  can  be  said  to  have  come  of  age,  yet  he  comes  very  near  to 
being  "  twenty-one  "  on  his  wedding  day.  The  boy,  though  he  may  not  have 
seen  more  than  twelve  or  thirteen  summers,  dresses  up  in  a  long  gown  reaching 
nearly  to  his  heels,  puts  on  a  hat  corresponding  to  the  American  "  stovepipe," 
and  walks  around  among  the  guests  with  all  the  dignity  of  his  own  grandfather. 
At  the  appointed  time  and  place  he  kneels  and  knocks  his  head  to  the  ground 
before  his  elders,  or  in  return  for  presents.  Yet  he  is  only  a  boy  after  all,  and 
it  does  not  make  a  man  of  him  to  marry  a  girl  whom  he  has  never  seen  before. 
Life  with  him,  after  his  wedding  day  has  passed,  goes  on  very  much  as  it  did 
before.  He  still  lives  at  home,  and  the  little  girl  who  has  joined  the  family  as 
his  wife  is  in  reality  the  servant  or  slave  of  his  mother. 

One  other  boy  there  is  whom  we  must  not  forget  to  mention  here,  the  school- 
boy. The  farmer  lad  gets  very  little  schooling;  the  son  of  a  merchant  or 
teacher  has  a  better  chance,  but  I  fear  that  our  American  boys  would  regard 
that  chance  as  a  poor  one.  School  keeps  nearly  all  the  year  round,  Sundays 
not  excepted.  Early  in  the  morning,  at  sunrise,  he  starts  for  school  and  remains 
there  until  about  ten  o'clock,  when  he  goes  home  fpr  breakfast,  after  which  he 
comes  back  and  remains  until  sunset.  Each  student  on  his  arrival  picks  up  his 
book  and  begins  studying  aloud.  As  the  number  of  students  increases  so  does 
the  noise,  until,  when  there  are  twenty-five  or  thirty  present,  the  hubbub  caused 
by  so  many  young  throats  bawling  out  their  lessons,  each  one  for  himself,  is 
something  fearful. 

Every  one  has  heard  how  the  Chinese  boy  when  he  comes  forward  to  recite 
his  lesson  first  makes  a  bow  to  his  teacher  and  then,  "  backing  his  book,"  rattles 
off  with  incredible  rapidity  the  lesson  he  has  tried  to  learn.     He  will  repeat  the 


Boys  in  China. 


247 


same  sentence  .1  dozen  times  until  prompted,  and  it  is  remarkable  with  what 
facility  he  glides  over  some  portions  which  he  remembers  imperfectly,  unless  the 


teacher  pays  strict  attention  to  business  and  sharply  calls  a  halt  at  the  place 
where  he  has  failed. 

After  all,   Chinese  boys  are   not  so  very  different  from  some   boys  we   are 
acquainted  with.     Don't  you  think  so  too? 


DOCTOR   CHIN   MIN-WANG. 


BY    REV.    JOSEPH    E.    WALKER,    OF    SHAO-WU,    CHINA. 


Ch'in  Min-Wang  was  a  Chinese  doctor  living  in  the  village  of  Yang-ching- 
k'eng,  about  eighteen  miles  southeast  of  Shao-wu,  in  the  Foochow  Mission  of 

the  American  Board.  He  was  a  quiet  little  man, 
with  a  careful  yet  self-possessed  manner,  and  a  dis- 
position to  investigate  cautiously  but  persistently 
anything  new.  The  Ch'in  family  have  flourished 
in  this  region  for  many  ages  past,  and  are  allied  by 
marriage  to  other  old  families.  Relationship  counts 
for  a  good  deal  in  China,  and  so  Dr.  Ch'in,  what 
with  the  help  of  the  relatives  of  his  father,  his 
mother,  and  his  wife,  enjoyed  quite  an  extensive 
practice  in  different  parts  of  this  country.  He  had 
learned  and  successfully  practised  vaccination, 
which  is  known  in  these  parts  as  "seeding  foreign 
The  art  was  introduced    here  from    the    south,    whence   also  the 


Medical  missionary  work  at  Canton  is  probably  to  be 


smallpox." 

supply  of  virus  came 

credited  with  this. 

Dr.  Ch'in  was  desirous  of  learning  more  of  foreign  medicines  and  methods 
of  treatment;  so  in  the  autumn  of  1S77  Dr.  Whitney,  a  few  months  after  his 
arrival  at  Shao-wu,  began  to  receive  frequent  visits  from  an  inquisitive  little 
Chinese  physician  who  spent  much  time  in  his  study  examining  such  works  on 
foreign  medicine  as  had  appeared  in  Chinese,  and  in  asking  questions.  This 
was  Dr.  Ch'in.  He  had  some  discussions  on  religion  with  Mr.  Blakely,  but  he 
took  little  interest  in  the  subject.  He  was  a  zealous  idolater;  no  one  in  his 
village  used  louder  firecrackers  or  sweeter  incense  than  he,  and,  like  many  other 
Chinese  doctors,  he  was  especially  devoted  to  the  god  of  medicine.  But  his 
religion  was  all  centred  on  this  life,  and  had  very  little  in  common  with  Chris- 
tianity. He  had  also  bought  a  New  Testament,  but  had  failed  to  understand  it. 
Its  history  and  its  ideas  seemed  to  contain  nothing  which  he  was  familiar  with  or 
interested  in.  The  Chinese  want  to  refer  everything  to  Chinese  standards,  and 
in  the  case  of  the  Bible  the  result  is  apt  to  be  confusing.  So  for  a  long  time 
Dr.  Ch'in  showed  no  care  for  the  gospel,  but  he  became  impressed  with  the 
benevolence  of  the  foreign  physician. 

During  the  winter  of  1879-80  Dr.  Whitney  found  that  the  health  of  his  family 
would  compel  his  speedy  withdrawal  from  Shao-wu.     Dr.  Ch'in  called  on  him 

24S 


Doctor  CI? in  Min-Wang. 


249 


one  day,  and  was  expressing  his  regret,  and  his  anxiety  as  to  how  he  could 
procure  foreign  remedies,  or  instruction  in  their  use.  when  l>r.  Whitney  was 
gone.  The  doctor  replied,  "  You  are  only  interested  in  the  body,  but  the-  soul 
is  the  important  thing."  He  had  but  hazy  ideas  of  what  this  could  mean.  The 
wonl  soul  represented  little  to  his  mind,  but  the  remark  set  him  to  thinking,  and 
he  read  Christian  books.  At  the  Chinese  new  year  of  1881  he  joined  but  little 
in  the  idolatrous  ceremonies  of  the  season.  Soon  alter  this  he  heard  at  ShaO-WU 
a  farewell  discourse  in  which  the  preacher  said,  "  We  may  never  meet  again  on 
earth,  but  this  will  matter  little  if  only  we  may  meet  again  in  heaven."  This 
threw  fresh  light  on  the  subject,  and  other  things  conspired  to  deepen  the 
impression.  Ideas  of  the  soul,  heaven,  and  God  gradually  took  shape  in  his 
mind,  till  at  last,  on  a  certain  Sunday  in  July  of  that  year,  he  knelt  alone  in  his 
bedroom  and  tried  to  pray  ;  but  he  trembled  all  over,  the  sweat  poured  from 


A 

Sk      *£*&; 

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■  Abb'   f.'Vi^      1   /t        V 

Sti 

iU£fi  ^PTKS 

tc'i  \S?'>& 

1 

>^S*s$j  be 

f 

J\                   — 

. 

DOCTOR   CH'IN  AND    HIS    FRIEND. 

him,  and  not  a  word  could  he  speak.  A  second  attempt  was  more  successful, 
and  once  started  he  was  full  of  the  matter.  The  next  Sabbath  a  neighbor  met 
with  him  in  the  bedroom,  and  on  the  next  two  more.  His  leading  position  in 
the  community,  combined  with  his  zeal,  produced  quite  an  excitement  in  the 
village  and  its  vicinity,  and  idolatry  received  a  blow  from  which  it  will  never 
recover.  But  alas  !  of  the  many  minds  at  that  time  awakened,  few  had  the 
courage  or  faith  to  risk  the  visible  for  the  invisible.  Dr.  Ch'in's  only  son  was  in 
a  native  school  at  Shao-wu,  and  his  father  visited  him  there,  brought  him  to  our 
chapel,  and  soon  had  the  joy  of  seeing  him  accept  the  truth.  He  himselt 
entered  the  church  that  autumn,  while  the  next  spring  his  son  and  nine  others 
were  baptized  as  the  fruit  of  his  labors. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  tireless  and  successful  efforts  which  ended  only 
with  his  death.  When  many  of  his  own  friends  and  neighbors  ceased  to  listen 
to  him,  he  turned  to  strangers,  always  eager  to  talk  if  any  one  would  listen.    The 


250 


Doctor  CJiin  Min-  Wang. 


importance  of  the  soul  was  generally  the  leading  topic.  He  was  not  naturally 
an  eloquent  man,  and  did  not  appear  to  advantage  as  a  preacher  before  an 
audience.  His  force  lay  in  personal  effort.  Once  when  conversing  with  me 
about  the  evidences  of  the  Spirit's  work  in  the  heart,  he  said  :  "  I  have  one  big 
proof:  formerly  I  had  little  to  say  to  folks.  If  any  one  came  to  me  on  business, 
I  attended  to  the  business  and  that  was  all.  Rut  when  I  became  a  Christian 
I  was  eager  to  talk  with  everybody,  even  the  very  beggars,  about  the  gospel.     I 


THE    SITTING-ROOM    OF   A   WEALTHY    C^ 


would  talk  by  the  hour,  or  half  a  night,  if  they  would  stop  and  listen."  His 
home  became  a  place  of  regular  worship,  and  the  worshipers  ate  altogether  too 
many  Sunday  dinners  at  his  expense.  When  his  son  married  the  girl  to  whom 
he  had  been  betrothed,  Dr.  Ch'in  immediately  set  to  work  for  her  conversion. 
At  first  he  did  not  meet  with  much  encouragment,  but  by-and-by  her  mind 
awoke  to  the  truth,  and  she  became  a  helpmeet  for  her  husband. 

The  Word  of  God,  which  as  an  idolater  he  had  found  unintelligible,  became 
from  his  conversion  the  one  Book,  his  constant  study  and  delight.  The  second 
chapter  of  1  Peter  was  a  special  favorite  with  him.  As  an  idolater  he  had  been 
wont  to  look  to  the  patron  god  of  physicians  for  guidance  in  the  use  of  medicines 
or  more  direct  interpositions  of  power,  and  when  he  was  converted,  he  trans- 


Doctor  Cli  in  Min-Wang.  25' 

ferred  this  faith  to  God,  and  Cod  honored  the  transfer.  Hoth  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  and  in  other  matters  he  experienced  striking  answers  to  prayer. 
Once  a  fire,  starting  in  the  west  end  of  the  village  and  with  a  wrest  wind,  was 
sweeping  away  the  houses.  When  it  was  within  a  few  feel  of  the  house  of  a 
church  member,  this  "righteous  man"  was  "energetically"  praying;  and 
suddenly  a  strong  east  wind  smote  back  the  fire  and  stopped  it  right  there. 
Yet  had  a  fire-engine  been  within  his  reach  I  think  he  would  haw  got  one. 

Two  years  ago  Dr.  Ch'in  took  us  into  an  interesting  mountain  region  twelve  to 
fifteen  miles  west  of  his  home,  where  are  several  large  villages,  all  of  one  surname, 
from  which  opium,  gambling,  and  some  other  vices  are  excluded.  His  own 
mother  was  from  one  of  these  villages,  so  that  he  had  friends  and  relatives  there. 
He  had  often  practised  his  profession  among  them,  and  in  due  course  he  preached 
to  them  the  gospel.  Attempts  were  made  to  put  Christianity  on  a  footing  with 
the  above-named  vices  and  exclude  it,  but  the  Lord  was  with  Dr.  Ch'in,  and  the 
attempts  came  to  naught.  There  are  now  several  church  members  living  there 
in  peace.  Threats  of  violence  were  made  against  him  for  having  guided  for- 
eigners to  the  region,  and  a  year  ago  he  went  to  the  principal  village  expecting 
a  beating,  but  the  headman  received  him  pleasantly  and  spent  half  the  night 
listening  to  the  truth. 

He  had  many  trials,  but  of  these,  as  a  rule,  we  heard  little  from  himself. 
Lukewarm  and  backsliding  professors  gave  him  much  sorrow,  while  heathen 
relatives  were  a  constant  grief  to  him.  He  had  no  income  except  from  his 
profession,  yet  to  the  neglect  of  this  he  freely  gave  time,  toil,  and  means  to  the 
work.  As  a  reward  he  was  accused  even  by  his  own  brother  of  receiving  big 
pay  from  us,  and  "  three  dollars  a  head  for  every  convert  he  made."  At  his 
funeral  this  younger  brother  made  much  trouble,  trying  to  extort  from  the  son 
a  share  of  the  money  which  he  fancied  the  father  had  made  out  of  us. 

Last  December  his  son  reached  home  from  Foochow  very  sick  with  typhoid 
fever.  Dr.  Ch'in  said,  "  If  one  of  us  must  go,  let  the  Lord  take  me,  and  spare  my 
son."  When  the  son  was  recovering  he  himself,  worn  out  with  nursing,  was  taken 
sick.  At  first  it  did  not  seem  severe,  but  two  days  later  the  disease  took  a  sudden 
turn  for  the  worse,  and  the  next  thing  we  heard  he  was  dead.  He  was  loath  to 
go  and  leave  so  much  to  be  done,  and  it  seems  to  us  a  sad  loss  ;  but  it  would 
take  many  deaths  to  deprive  us  of  all  the  fruits  of  his  labors.  I  have  not  the 
figures  at  hand,  but  I  think  that  about  fifty  have  been  brought  into  the  church 
through  his  efforts.  Several  of  these  converts  have  much  of  his  spirit,  among 
whom  his  son  is  prominent.  Only  last  month,  in  visiting  some  new  inquirers  in 
a  new  place,  I  found  it  was  the  springing  up  of  seed  sown  by  Dr.  Ch'in.  I  trust 
'  there  is  still  much  seed  of  his  sowing  over  which  God  is  watching,  and  will  cause 
to  spring  up  in  his  own  time.  "Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the 
Lord  from  henceforth  :  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labours  ; 
for  /heir  works  follow  With  them." 


PREACHING  WITH    A    LANTERN    IN    CHINA. 


BY    RF.V.    DWIGHT    GODDARD,    OF    FOOCHOW. 


It  was  a  great  relief  from  study  on  this  most  extraordinary  Chinese  language, 
to  have  my  associate,  Mr.  Hubbard,  of  the  Foochow  Mission,  ask  me  one  after- 
noon to  aid  him  at  a  lantern  exhibition  down  the  River  Min,  on  which  our  city  is 
situated.  Hastily  packing  a  lunch  for  supper  we  embarked  on  Ing  Ing's  sampan, 
or  house  boat. 

It  was  a  beautiful  hour  and  place,  for  reach  upon  reach  of    massive  ledge, 


CHINESE  RIVER  BOATS. 


climbing  skyward  to  jagged  mountain  crest,  shut  us  in  ;  the  setting  sun  lighted 
the  distant  summits,  and  threw  into  murky  shadow  the  intersecting  gorges.  The 
fresh  breeze,  that  had  sprung  up  to  say  good-night  to  the  setting  sun,  sent  us 
spinning  over  the  waves  of  the  river  and,  together  with  the  evening  damp,  made 
us  thankful  for  our  overcoats,  although  we  had  not  far  to  go. 

In  about  an  hour  our  boat  bumped  on  the  rocks  at  the  village  of  An-guang-g6 
and  we  were  at  our  destination.     The  tide  was  out,  making  the  village,  which  at 


Preaching  with  n  Lantern  in  Chi  mi. 

best  seemed  high  in  air,  clinging  as  it  did,  hut  above  hut,  '<>  the  mountain  side, 
seem  higher  than  ever.  It  wis  so  desolate  and  bare,  just  a  recess,  a  miniature 
cove,  on  the  bleak  river  coast,  but  tempting  these  hardy  boatmen  by  its  shelter 
to  make  it  their  home.  They  had  huddled  their  huts  together  and  terraced  the 
mountain,  where  they  could,  to  hold  in  place  the  scanty  soil.  So  small  did  it 
seem  that  hail  we  not  been  acquainted  with  these  river  towns  we  would  have 
passed  it  by,  as  we  are  obliged  to  pass  by  scores  and  scores  of  hamlets.  Yet  this 
town,  small  as  it  seemed,  sheltered  over  500  families. 

Before  our  boat  is  quiet  the  news  spreads  through  the  village  irom  mouth  to 
mouth  —  "  The  '  se-nang,'  the  teacher,  is  going  to  do  theatre  business,"  and  in 
great  excitement  the  villagers  begin  to  gather.  We  climb  the  steep  and  winding 
steps,  cut  in  the  solid  ledge,  to  the  cliff  whereon  stands  the  ancient  village 
temple,  sheltered  by  a  gnarled  and  spreading  banyan  tree  and  overlooking  the 
cove  and  river.  It  is  like  thousands  of  other  temples  for  idol  or  ancestral 
worship  in  the  unnumbered  villages  that  shelter  China's  millions.  Some  of  them 
are  very  ancient,  and  few  indeed  are  very  recent.  It  is  divided  into  two  main 
parts,  having  on  one  side  a  theatre  for  itinerant  actors  and  musicians,  who 
furnish,  together  with  idol  processions,  the  bulk  of  amusements  to  these  sedate 
and  ignorant  multitudes.  This  theatre  part  has  a  high,  raised  platform  and 
gallery  running  around  it  on  both  sides  and  back.  The  other  half  of  the  building 
is  reserved  for  the  idols  and  their  worship.  This  particular  temple  of  An-guang-g6 
is  dedicated  to  the  goddess  of  the  sailors.  The  idols  are  grouped  in  three 
alcoves  or  recesses  hung  with  ragged  and  dirty  decorations.  She  to  whom  the 
temple  is  dedicated  occupies  the  recess  to  the  right,  although  that  is  not  the 
place  of  honor.  With  her,  and  in  the  other  two  recesses  also,  are  scores  of  other 
idols,  none  more  than  thirty  inches  high,  all  scowling  and  repulsive,  made  of 
rudely  carved  wood  and  painted.  All  of  them  had  long  since  begun  to  decay. 
Before  them  are  the  altars  and  urns  for  receiving  the  joss  sticks,  incense,  and 
idol  paper. 

As  we  enter  after  dusk  with  our  feeble  lanterns,  the  multiplied  rafters  of  the 
roof  are  lost  in  ghostly  darkness,  but  there  is  the  odor  and  gathered  dust  of  years 
that  tell  of  antiquity  and  neglect.  It  may  seem  strange  to  you  that  we  are 
admitted  to  a  temple  for  a  preaching  service,  but  it  is  the  only  and  natural 
meeting-place  of  the  villagers,  in  fact  the  only  large  building  in  the  village,  and 
until  the  devil  wakes  up  to  the  import  of  our  message  it  is  the  place  to  which  the 
people  naturally  would  invite  us. 

Mr.  Hubbard  had  visited  this  village  shortly  before  mis,  selling  Christian  books, 
and  he  had  received  from  the  villagers,  as  he  so  commonly  does  of  late,  a  pleasant 
reception  and  an  invitation  to  come  again.  It  is  now  no  uncommon  thing  in  these 
regions  of  China  along  the  coast  to  find  a  lack  of  faith  in  their  old  idolatry 
openly  expressed,  and  a  corresponding  interest  in  the  new  "  heavenly  doctrine." 
This  does  not  mean  that  they  are  ready  at  once  to  embrace  Chi.stianity,  but  it 
does  mean  that  the  old  power  is  waning  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  preparing  the 
way  of  the  Lord.  Again  and  again  have  missionaries,  veterans  in  the  service, 
told  me  of  their  old  vicissitudes  and  discouragements,  but  what  is  of  more 
importance,  they  tell  with  glowing  words  of  the  present  openness  to  new  things, 
and  of  fields  whitening  to  the   harvest.     Oh  !   that  our  numbers  were  multiplied 


254 


Preaching  with  a  Lantern  in  China. 


that  we  might  take  advantage  of  this  spirit  of  inquiry,  this  spirit  of  openness  to 
truth  that  is  everywhere  present  in  these  coast  provinces  to  implant  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  blessed  gospel. 

We  went  to  work  at  once  to  hang  the  screen  and  adjust  the  lantern,  but  before 


we  were  ready  there  must  have  been  300  people  in  the  old  temple  —  not  to  hear 
the  clangor  of  gong  and  drum,  but  to  hear  of  countries  greater  than  China,  of 
teachers  greater  than  Confucius.  It  was  a  motley  throng  —  no  silks  and  satins 
of  literati  or  officials,  but  the  poor  and  the  ignorant,  whose  lives  had  hitherto 
been  limited  to  this  village  or  the  adjoining  coasts,  into  whose  minds  had  come 
hitherto  only  the  narrow  and  the  dark  and  the  temporal,  enlightened  by  no  ray 


Preaching  with  a  Lantern  in  China. 


-'55 


of  hope  beyond  this  life.  There  was  the  village  elder  in  the  front,  with  a  deep 
voice  and  air  of  importance  ;  there  were  women  half-frightened  with  sheer  aston- 
ishment ;  there  were  the  beggars  hugging  their  rags,  and  the  ordinary  boatmen 
and  field  laborers  asking  if  we  were  Japanese,  or  when  the  Japs  were  coming,  or 
what  they  would  do  when  they  did  come. 

Rapidly  we  threw  picture  after  picture  on  the  screen,  grave  and  gay,  art  and 
landscape.  They  who  had  seen  so  little  before  now,  thanks  to  Western  science, 
could  gaze  on  other  lands  and  people  j  could  see  art  and  architecture  beyond 
their  dreams  ;  could  see  activities  and  facts  before  deemed  impossible,  now  made 
real  before  their  eyes.  The  old  village  elder  again  and  again  voiced  the  mind  of 
all  in  a  long  drawn  out  ah— h  of  astonishment.     But  think  for  a  moment,  what  it 


■jW^^v      '■,;./    ,//./,/  hi;  y^iri'll  " 


A    CHINESE   ORCHESTRA. 


^■Pl 


$? 


.■^\ 


must  mean  to  have  the  curtain  of  the  mind  suddenly  lifted,  revealing  a  new  earth 
anil  a  new  heaven. 

Then  we  came  to  pictures  from  the  Bible  which  Michael  Angelo,  Dore\  and 
Munkacksy  had  painted  for  eyes  beyond  their  ken.  Then  in  earnest  words  were 
told  by  missionary  and  native  helper  the  "  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  his  love." 
If  the  pictures  of  railroads  and  machinery  had  filled  them  with  astonishment,  or 
the  pictures  of  cathedral  and  palace  with  awe,  then  much  more  did  the  pictures 
that  revealed  to  them  a  Saviour  and  heavenly  mansions  awake  an  unknown 
hunger  and  a  new  and  a  rapturous  hope. 

Behind  their  backs  were  the  dust-covered,  repellent  idols  ;  before  their  eyes 
the  winsome  Saviour,  speaking  in  their  ears  the  story  of  the  cross,  while  within 
them,  just  springing  to  life,  the  knowledge  of  personal  relations  to  this  new-found 
Saviour  and  intimations  of  immortality. 

A  half-hour  later  the  people  had  scurried  to  their  abodes  and  darkness  had 
enveloped  us  as  we  sped  in  our  boat  on  our  homeward  way.  May  God  grant 
that  darkness  may  never  shut  in  that  people  again,  but  may  the  light  grow 
clearer  and  clearer  unto  the  perfect  dav  ! 


THE   CONVERTED   SILVERSMITH. 


BY    KF.V.    C.    R.    HAGER,    OF    HONG    KONG. 


About  eighty-five  miles  from  Hong  Kong,  and  ten  miles  from  the  island  of 
St.  John,  is  situated  Kwong-hoi,  a  walled  city  containing  from  10,000  to  20,000 
inhabitants.  Every  night  the  four  gates  of  the  city  are  shut,  a  custom  which  is 
observed  in  all  Chinese  cities,  though  there  may  be  as  many  people  living  out- 
side of  the  walls  as  within  them.  On  the  north  side  of  the  city,  and  just  outside 
the  city  walls,  are  a  number  of  Chinese  shops  where  trade  is  carried  on.  Here 
is  situated  one  of  the  chapels  of  the  American  Board,  where  for  a  number  of 
years  the  gospel  has  been  preached  every  evening.  The  chapel  is  really  nothing 
more  than  a  Chinese 
shop  fitted  up  with  tables 
and  benches,  where  per- 
sons may  gather  to  re- 
ceive instruction.  Some 
of  the  older  residents 
say  that  the  place  is 
haunted,  and  even  now 
lew  heathen  Chinese  will 
venture  to  spend  the 
night  there  alone. 

It  was  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  1889 
that  a  number  of  Chris- 
tians were  gathered  here 
to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  heathen.  It  often 
occurs  that  not  only  one 
or  two  speak,  but  as 
many  as  may  be  present. 
Whatever  may  be  the 
custom  of  conducting  preaching  services  in  Christian  countries,  in  China  any 
Christian  with  some  knowledge  and  experience  is  expected  to  bear  testimony 
to  the  truth,  no  matter  whether  he  holds  the  office  of  preacher  or  not.  It  was 
during  one  of  these  series  of  discourses  that  a  young  man  entered  the  chapel 
and  listened  to  the  truth,  almost  for  the  first  time,  and,  singularly  enough, 
realized  that  it  contained  the  word  of  eternal  life.  As  soon  as  the  service  ended 
the  usual  invitation  was  given  for  any  interested  person  to  remain  a  little  while 


A   CHINESE    MERCHANT. 


The  Converted  Silversmith.  -?7 

for  personal  conversation,  and  this  young  man  among  others  remained  behind 
and  gladly  accepted  (he  invitation  to  drink  tea  and  read  the  Christian  books.  I 
remember  how  I  gave  to  three  or  four  Chinese  a  simple  Christian  classic,  dealing 
with  the  foolishness  of  idolatry;  then  we  read  it  all  in  concert,  stopping  occa- 
sionally to  explain  certain  characters.  Then  followed  our  evening  devotional 
service,  which  is  always  an  interesting  occasion  to  those  who  have  never  seen  the 
Christian  worshiping  his  God.  Such  a  practical  object-lesson  is  always  helpful 
to  the  heathen  mind,  and  is  often  more  convincing  than  long  and  labored  argu- 
ments. Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  inquiry  meeting  in  Christian  lands,  we 
cannot  do  without  it  in  China,  where  conversation,  prayer,  and  praise  are  em- 
ployed to  show  the  heathen  the  way  of  worshiping  the  true  God. 

Chin  Po,  as  we  shall  now  call  this  young  man,  was  interested  in  all  the  exer- 
cises, and  every  night  after  this  one  might  have  seen  him  wending  his  way  to  the 
chapel  to  learn  more  of  the  "  Jesus  doctrine."  At  first  he  listened  more  to  the 
preacher,  but  after  a  time  he  became  interested  in  the  Book,  and  commenced  to 
read  the  Word  of  Life  for  himself.  It  is  always  a  hopeful  sign  when  a  man 
begins  to  read  books,  and  so  it  was  with  this  silversmith.  The  more  he  read,  the 
more  he  was  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  It  was  soon  observed  by  the 
heathen  that  he  was  a  regular  attendant  at  the  chapel,  and  this  offered  them  an 
opportunity  for  persecuting  him  in  little  ways,  and  for  slandering  the  Christians 
as  much  as  possible.  At  first  they  ridiculed  him,  and  asked  him  whether  he  had 
drunk  any  of  the  foreigners'  tea ;  for  it  is  a  common  saying  among  them  that 
foreigners  drug  the  Chinese  in  order  to  make  them  become  Christians.  Strangers 
often  have  refused  the  usual  cup  of  tea  in  a  chapel  lest  it  contain  a  decoction 
which  will  make  them  become  Christians.  To  all  these  sneers  and  defamatory 
speeches  Chin  Po  paid  little  attention,  except  to  bring  the  cavils  of  the  heathen 
to  the  Chinese  preacher,  who  answered  them  each  in  its  turn.  During  the  day 
he  made  silver  bracelets,  bodkins,  and  earrings  for  the  Chinese  women,  but  at 
night  he  came  to  the  chapel,  generally  bringing  a  number  of  questions  with  him 
which  troubled  his  own  mind,  or  which  had  been  proposed  by  his  heathen 
persecutors. 

It  was  only  a  few  days  after  he  had  heard  the  gospel  that  I  asked  him  what  he 
thought  of  the  Christian  religion,  when  he  told  me  that  he  believed  it.  His 
answer  surprised  me  greatly,  for  persons  who  have  been  abroad  are  always  harder 
to  bring  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  than  those  who  have  never  been  away  from 
home.  He  had  been  in  the  Straits  Settlements  for  several  years,  but  his  heart 
was  still  young  and  tender,  and  when  the  Spirit  called  him,  he  heard  his  voice 
and  began  a  new  life  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  always  difficult  for  Chinese  con\ert> 
to  pray,  and  I  have  seen  even  literary  scholars  break  down  entirely  when  they 
first  commenced  to  pray  ;  but  to  Chin  Po  this  seemed  an  easy  task,  and  his  first 
prayer  was  couched  in  smooth  and  good  Chinese  terms.  He  continued  to  study 
and  read  the  Bible  and  other  books,  but  at  the  same  time  the  persecutions  also 
increased.  His  father  and  mother  were  informed  of  his  new  faith  and  his  em- 
ployer constantly  ridiculed  him  ;  but  he  never  wavered,  and  soon  he  wanted  to  be 
baptized.  He  knew  what  the  requirements  of  the  Christian  Church  were  as  to 
the  Sabbath.  On  the  one  hand  stood  the  Word  of  God.  which  demanded  that 
he  should  keep  the  day  holy  •  on  the  other  stood  his  employer,  who  demanded 


258  The  Converted  Silversmith. 

that  he  should  labor  on  the  Sabbath,  and  also  the  parents  for  whose  support  he 
was  obliged  to  labor.     What  should  he  do?     Would  it  be  right  for  him  to  work 


on  the  Sabbath?     He  did  not  fear  the  insults  of  his  fellow-workmen,  but  what 
would  hf  parents  do  if  he  were  thrown  out  of  employment  because  he  refused  to 


The  Converted  Silversmith.  259 

work  on  the  Sabbath?  Ah  !  it  was  a  hard  question  for  him  to  answer;  and  so  he 
came  to  me  and  asked  me  whether  it  would  not  be  possible  for  him  to  be  a 

Christian  and  still  work  on  the  Sabbath.  I  was  sorry  for  him,  for  I  knew  the 
hard  straggle  through  which  he  was  passing.     I    did   not  answer  his  question 

directly,  but  asked  him  what  the  Bible  said  about  it.  To  which  he  replied,  "  It 
forbids  all  work  on  the  Sabbath  day."  "  And  what  is  our  guide  in  such  matters  ?  " 
I  asked  further.     "  The  Bible,"  was  his  quick  response. 

I  said  no  more,  and  he  immediately  went  away  to  consult  with  his  employer, 
and  in  a  little  while  he  returned,  saying  that  he  had  decided  to  keep  the  Sabbath 
and  receive  baptism,  though  he  did  not  know  that  his  employer  would  employ 
him  any  longer.  "  It  is  always  safe  to  obey  God  and  leave  the  consequences 
with  him,"  replied  I.  And  so  he  was  baptized  and  received  into  the  church, 
after  a  searching  examination.  During  the  day  we  prayed  earnestly  that  he 
might  be  enabled  to  retain  his  situation,  for  we  all  expected  that  his  employer 
would  give  him  work  no  longer.  But  when  the  next  morning  came,  his  employer 
told  him  he  might  go  to  work  again.  The  Christians  were  all  rejoiced,  and  I 
think  Chin  Po's  heart  beat  easier ;  but  now  he  was  persecuted  more  and  more  by 
his  comrades.  Vile  stories  were  carried  to  his  parents  about  his  having  become 
a  traitor,  and  day  by  day  he  was  made  the  butt  of  slanderous  and  vile  epithets. 

So  many  reports  were  current  about  his  apostasy  from  the  Chinese  faith  and 
his  unfilial  conduct  that  even  his  parents  became  alarmed.  And  so  his  mother 
came  to  the  chapel  to  complain  of  the  wrongs  that  we  had  inflicted  upon  her 
son.  I  shall  never  forget  her  lamentation  as  she  accused  the  Chinese  preacher 
of  having  robbed  her  of  her  son.  Her  eyes  were  wet  with  tears,  and  all  the 
efforts  of  the  preacher  were  unavailing  in  comforting  the  poor  woman's  heart,  as 
she  continued  to  sob  and  exclaim,  "  I  have  lost  my  son  !  I  have  lost  my  son  !  " 
When  the  preacher  said  that  he  had  not  caused  him  to  believe  in  the  gospel,  but 
that  God  himself  had  called  him  to  abandon  idolatry  and  serve  him,  she  only 
wept  the  more.  "Is  it  not  better,"  said  he,  "  that  your  son  should  accept  of 
Christ,  than  be  a  gambler  or  an  opium  smoker?"  To  which  the  wounded  heart 
of  the  mother  replied,  "  O  that  you  had  taught  him  to  gamble  and  to  smoke 
cpium,  instead  of  this  hateful  Jesus  doctrine  ! " 

As  I  heard  her  use  these  words  my  own  heart  was  pierced,  and  I  turned  my 
eyes  heavenward  and  uttered  this  prayer :  "  O  Lord  how  hard  it  is  to  lead  one  of 
these  heathen  souls  to  the  true  light,  for  they  call  darkness  light  and  light  dark- 
ness !  "  After  her  paroxysm  of  grief  had  been  spent  she  returned  home  and  since 
that  time  she  has  been  more  reconciled  to  her  son's  being  a  Christian.  All  these 
things  did  not  move  Chin  Po's  purpose  to  serve  God.  He  was  faithful  in  his 
Sabbath  observance  and  continued  to  grow  in  grace.  At  the  close  of  the  year 
his  employer  refused  to  give  him  work  any  longer,  and  being  very  anxious  to 
study,  I  sent  him  to  school  where  he  is  now  preparing  himself  for  the  ministry. 
His  entry  into  the  Christian  Church  has  been  difficult,  but  another  brighter  and 
happier  entrance  will  be  ministered  unto  him  into  the  kingdom  above. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  SOCIETY  IN  FOOCHOW,  CHINA. 


BY    MISS    ELLA    J.    NEWTON,    OF    FOOCHOW. 


it 


& 

M 


We  had  long  been  trying  to  find  some  way  to  help  our  young  people,  to  make 
them  more  active  and  earnest,  and  to  give  them  a  clearer  conception  of  what 
the  Christian  life  really  means.  At  that  time  the  Young  People 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  was  in  its  infancy,  even  in  America. 
We  read  about  it  and  wished  we  had  one,  but  none  of  us  knew 
how  to  organize  it.  Not  long  after,  several  new  missionaries  came 
to  us,  and  among  them  one,  Rev.  G.  H.  Hubbard,  who  had  been 
actively  engaged  in  Endeavor  work  in  the  homeland ;  so,  without 
waiting  for  him  to  get  his  lips  opened  in  Chinese,  we  pressed  him 
into  the  service,  and  through  an  interpreter  he  explained  to  a  little 
company  of  Chinese  Christians  the  important  features  of  the  new- 
society.  At  first  they  were  very  timid  and  feared  to  commit  them- 
selves, but  before  long  a  few  young  men  and  women  found  sufficient 
courage  to  come  forward,  and  the  first  society  was  formed  in  one  of 
our  mission  houses  early  in  the  spring  of  1S85.  This  was  the  day  of 
small  things,  but  we  prayed  and  planned  and  worked  till  one  after 
,/^N*  another  caught  the  spirit  and  fell  into  line.  Gradually  we  formed 
GJ  committees  and  transferred  offices  from  foreign  to  native  hands,  and 

our  young  people  came  to  feel  that  they  must  bear  responsibility. 
The  Chinese   characters  on  this  page  give  the  name  decided  upon  for  the 
United  Society.     It  means  literally  "The  Christian  Society  for  stimulating  to 
greater  activity."     This  perhaps  is  as  near  the  English  name  as  any  expression 
we  can  find.     It  certainly  states  exactly  what  the  object  of  the  society  is. 

Of  the  now  existing  societies  several  are  branches  of  this  original  one,  while 
others  were  organized  independently.  In  November,  1893,  the  mother  invited 
her  children  back  to  the  old  home.  They  came  with  banners  and  badges  and  we 
had  a  grand  Rally,  with  reports,  bright,  short  addresses,  plenty  of  singing,  and 
a  "model  consecration  meeting,"  which  did  us  all  good  and  gave  us  new  inspira- 
tion for  the  work. 

Of  the  original  members  of  this  first  society  very  few  remain.  Besides  those 
who  have  passed  over  to  the  other  side,  our  Foochow  Endeavorers  have  gone  to 
Amoy,  Formosa,  Hong  Kong,  Singapore,  Shanghai,  and  Tientsin,  as  well  as  to 
inland  stations  in  China,  and  in  most  cases  we  believe  they  have  carried  with 

them  the  spirit,  if  not  the  name,  of  the  society. 

260 


The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  Foochow,  China. 


261 


In  November,  1S94,  we  had  our  second  Rally,  similar  in  character  to  the  one 
held  the  year  before,  but  more  enthusiastic  and  showing  greater  progress.  Seven 
societies  reported  430  members,  one  society  has  since  been  organized,  and 
several  more  call  themselves  by  the  Christian  Endeavor  name,  but,  as  they  are 
somewhat  irregular,  they  are  not  counted  on  our  list.  The  cut  below  shows  the 
interior  of  the  Suburbs  First  Church  where  the  Rally  was  held,  with  the  banners 
of  the  different  societies,  bearing  appropriate  mottoes.     Mr.  Ling,  whose  picture 


CHURCH    IN    FOOCHOW    SUBURBS    WHERE   THE    RALLY    WAS    HELD. 


appears  on  the  next  page,  is,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  earliest  Christian  Endeavorer 
in  China,  and  he  was  unanimously  elected  as  the  representative  of  the  Foochow 
society  to  the  National  Convention  held  in  Shanghai  in  June,  1S94,  the  members 
contributing  generously  toward  his  expenses.  He  enters  enthusiastically  into  the 
spirit  of  the  organization,  and  the  First  Church  society,  of  which  he  has  several 
times  been  president,  owes  much  of  its  success  to  him. 

The  group  of  girls  in  the  cut  comprise  the  officers  of  the  society  connected 
with  the  Girls'  School.  The  banner  is  the  one  by  which  they  were  represented 
at  the  recent  Rally,  with  the  motto  :  "  Fit  yourself  into  the  mind  of  God."      The 


262 


The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  Foochozv,  China. 


president  and  vice-president  sit  at  the  table  in  front  of  the  banner,  the  former 
with  her  finger  on  the  bell.  Behind  them  the  lookout  committee  are  holding  up 
a  copy  of  the  pledge,  and  in  front  the  prayer-meeting  committee  sit  with  open 
Bibles.  At  the  other  table  are  the  recording  and  corresponding  secretaries, 
behind  them  the  flower  and  visiting  committee,  while  the  collectors  are  distin- 
guished by  their  little  baskets. 

We  give  on  the  last  page  the  face  of  one  more  prominent  Endeavorer,  Chio 

Lang  Chia.  In  this  true- 
hearted,  earnest  Christian 
teacher,  whose  services  are 
so  valuable  that  we  can 
hardly  spare  her  to  be- 
come the  wife  of  the 
young  man  who  has  waited 
so  patiently  for  her,  it  is 
hard  to  recognize  the  child 
with  half-starved  body,  un- 
developed mind,  and  tiny 
bound  feet,  that  came  from 
a  miserable  fishing  village 
nearly  eleven  years  ago. 

In  looking  back  over  the 
history  of  our  Foochow 
societies,  it  is  natural  to 
ask  what  results  are  mani- 
fest, what  has  been  accom- 
plished through  the  intro- 
duction of  this  new  agency, 
i.  It  has  proved  the 
door  of  the  church ;  and 
the  majority  of  admissions, 
wherever  the  Christian  En- 
deavor organization  has 
existed,    have    been    from 

MR.    LING.  .^  .    ,  ii- 

its   associate    membership. 

2.  It  has  developed  in  the  members  the  ability  to  preside  over  and  take  part 
in  the  meetings  intelligently,  as  well  as  a  deliniteness  and  brevity  in  prayer  and 
testimony  to  which  they  were  strangers  bcfoie.  Especially  have  the  sentence 
prayers  been  helpful  to  them,  and  are  now  thoroughly  enjoyed.  Promptness  in 
opening  and  closing  the  meetings  is  also  a  marked  characteristic. 

3.  They  have  clearer  ideas  of  conducting  business  in  an  orderly,  systematic 
manner,  of  electing  officers,  transferring  members,  keeping  records,  etc. 

4.  It  has  cultivated  greater  familiarity  with  the  Bible  and  care  in  selecting 
texts  that  throw  light  on  a  given  subject. 

5.  More  cordial  social  relations  exist,  and  far  more  personal  work  is  done. 
The  Christians  are  learning  the  joy  of  saving  souls  and  feeling  more  deeply  their 
individual  responsibility.    Then,  too,  they  have  developed  more  courage  in  show- 


Tin-  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  /oocl/ozv,  China. 


:63 


ing  their  colors  among  their  heathen  friends.  <  >n  lour  evenings  of  the  week  the 
Suburbs  First  Church  is  opened  for  preaching  to  outsiders,  and  members  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society  are  on  hand  to  assist  the  pastor,  either  in    public 


speaking,  or  talking  with  inquirers  after  the  service.  In  the  city  church  we  have 
a  band  of  exhorters,  numbering  from  twelve  to  twenty,  who  meet  Sabbath  after- 
noons for  a  little  season  of  prayer,  and  then  go  out  two  by  two,  into  any  villages 
where  the  pastor  thinks  best  to  send  them.  A  new  chapel  recently  opened  in 
one  of  these  villages  is  the  direct  result  of  the  labors  of  these  young  men.     In 


264 


The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  Foochozu,  China. 


the  society  connected  with  the  Girls'  School,  a  band  of  voluntary  workers  has 
been  organized,  two  of  whom  go  out  every  afternoon  to  tell  the  old,  old  story  in 
the  homes  of  women  who  invite  them,  and  the  report  of  the  week's  work  is 

read  at  the  regular  Christian 
Endeavor  meeting  Friday 
evening. 

6.  A  deeper  and  more  in- 


wmmmmm 


telligent  interest  is  taken  in 
foreign  missionary  work.  In 
the  Girls'  School  society  a 
monthly  missionary  meeting 
is  held  and  regular  collec- 
tions taken  for  the  American 
Board. 

7.  Through  letters  ex- 
changed between  our  soci- 
eties and  those  in  other 
parts  of  the  empire  and  in 
America,  a  warmer  spirit  of 
mutual  love  is  growing,  and 
the  consciousness  that  they 
are  not  a  little  isolated  band 
of  Christians,  but  part  of  a 
mighty  army  that  encircles 
the  globe,  bound  together  by 
a  common  purpose  to  win 
the  world  for  Christ —  all  this 
inspires  them  with  new  hope 
and  courage  and  makes  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society 
a  wonderful  blessing  to  our 
young  people. 

During  the  last  few  months 
we  have  been  greatly  re- 
freshed through  the  labors 
of  a  young  English  evangelist 
who  was  formerly  engaged  in  business  in  Foochow,  and  the  interest  has  been 
largely  in  our  Christian  Endeavor  societies,  many  of  the  members  having  con- 
secrated themselves  anew  to  the  service  of  Christ  and  received  a  spiritual  anoint- 
ing for  service  to  which  they  were  strangers  before.  All  this  gives  us  courage 
to  expect  greater  results  than  ever  before  during  the  coming  year. 

Foochow,  China,  December  12,  1894. 


CHIO    LANG    CHIA. 


Japan. 


JAPANESE   BO    ZES   (BUDDHIST  PRIESTS)    PRAYING. 


THE  FIRST  PROTESTANT  BAPTISMS  IN  JAPAN. 


A    ROMANCE    OF    MISSION'S. 


In  the  year  1854  an  English  fleet-of-war  entered  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki, 
Japan.  There  was  then  no  treaty  between  Japan  and  England.  Native  troops 
gathered  to  watch  the  new-comers,  and  Wakasa,  their  commander,  used  to  sail 

about  in  a  boat  to  see  that  they 
had  no  secret  communication 
with  the  shore.  One  day  Wa- 
kasa found  in  the  water  a  small 
Testament.  He  was  anxious  to 
know  its  contents  and  asked  a 
Dutch  interpreter,  who  said  it 
told  about  God  and  Jesus  Christ. 
This  made  Wakasa  still  more 
curious  and  he  finally  sent  to 
Shanghai  for  a  Chinese  transla- 
tion. He  returned  to  his  home 
at  Saga  and  began  to  study  the 
Testament.  He  induced  his 
brother  Ayabe,  with  a  retainer 
named  Montono  and  one  other 
man,  to  join  him. 

Eight  years  after,  Ayabe  came 
from  Saga  to  Nagasaki  to  seek 
further  instruction  from  Dr.  Ver- 
beck,  a  missionary  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  who  answered 
his  questions.  But  Ayabe  soon 
left,  having  received  a  govern- 
ment appointment ;  ami  then 
Wakasa  sent  Montono,  who  had 
learned  to  read  English.  Mon- 
tono was  charged  to  read  over 
and  get  explanations  from  Dr. 
Verbeck,  of  those  parts  of  the 
Testament  which  they  could  not  understand.  For  three  years  this  Bible  class 
was  kept  up,  the  faidiful  Montono  making  the  two  days'  journey  and  returning 

to  Saga  with  the  desired  information. 

267 


JIMMU 


FIRST   EMPEROR  OF  JAPAN. 


268  The  First  Protestant  Baptisms  in  Japan. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  May,  1866,  a  messenger  arrived  at  the  house  of  Dr.  Ver- 
beck,  announcing  that  some  high  officials  from  the  province  of  Hizen  were  about 
to  visit  him.  At  the  time  appointed  the  train  appeared,  and  it  proved  to  be 
Wakasa  and  his  two  sons,  with  Ayabe,  Montono,  and  their  attendants.  These 
men  had  fully  believed  the  gospel  and  only  sought  light  as  to  Christian  customs 
and  character.  They  spoke  of  the  love  and  power  of  Christ,  and  finally  asked 
for  baptism.  They  knew  perfectly  that  it  was  perilous,  as  the  law  forbade  it ; 
but  only  asked  that  it  should  be  done  in  private,  that  their  lives  and  those 
of  their  families  might  not  be  endangered. 

Dr.  Verbeck  told  them  that  they  must  not  suppose  baptism  would  save  them, 
explaining  that  it  was  but  the  outward  sign  of  an  inward  faith.  He  also  showed 
them  how  sacred  was  the  obligation  it  laid  upon  them  to  follow  the  Lord  Jesus 
in  all  things.  But  they  were  not  discouraged,  and  it  was  arranged  that  the  three 
converts  should  come  the  next  Sunday  evening  to  be  received  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  Church  of  Christ.  When  the  time  arrived,  they  dismissed  their 
retainers  and  came  to  the  missionary  home,  where  the  shutters  had  been  closed 
and  preparation  made  for  the  simple,  precious  rites  of  our  holy  religion.  After 
some  words  of  exhortation  and  encouragement  they  were  baptized  and  received 
the  sacrament.  "Now,"  said  Wakasa,  "  I  have  what  I  have  long  been  heartily 
wishing  for."  He  then  told  the  story  of  the  little  book  he  found  twelve  years 
before  in  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki  and  of  all  that  it  had  led  to.  He  returned  to 
Saga  rejoicing  in  the  love  of  God  and  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

THE    SEQUEL. 

Fourteen  years  passed  away.  In  April,  1SS0,  their  appeared  in  the  congrega- 
tion at  Nagasaki  two  strangers.  One  of  them  was  evidently  a  lady  of  high 
rank,  the  other  her  attendant.  They  gave  close  attention  to  the  service,  and 
after  it  was  over  they  were  introduced.  The  lady  was  Wakasa's  daughter.  She 
said  that  her  father  had  died  eight  years  before,  in  firm  and  joyful  hope  of 
eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ.  He  had  faithfully  taught  her  and  her  nurse 
about  the  true  God  and  his  Son  our  Saviour.  She  had  learned  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  some  portions  of  the  Scriptures  which  her  father  had  written  out  for 
her  in  simple  characters.  She  had  married  and  come  to  live  at  Nagasaki,  but,  as 
Dr.  Verbeck  had  left,  she  knew  of  no  Christian  or  missionary  to  whom  she  could 
go  for  instruction.  So  she  sent  home  to  Saga  for  her  old  nurse,  and  together  they 
had  searched  through  Nagasaki  for  a  Christian  teacher.  After  some  days  they 
found  a  shop  where  Bibles  were  sold.  They  bought  a  full  supply  and  learned 
where  a  Christian  service  was  held.  The  next  Sunday  they  appeared  among  the 
congregation  as  we  have  before  described. 

They  desired  baptism  at  once,  especially  as  the  lady's  husband  had  concluded 
not  to  remain  in  Nagasaki.  He  came  with  her  to  witness  the  baptism.  The 
old  nurse  returned  to  Saga  and  taught  a  little  school  for  girls  and  soon  opened  a 
class  of  women  for  Bible  study.  After  a  time  she  opened  a  Sunday  school  with 
the  Bible-class  women  as  teachers.  There  are  now  about  twenty  Christians  in 
Saga,  and  most  of  them  have  been  brought  to  Christ  through  that  nurse's  efforts. 
Among  them  is  a  son  of  her  master  Wakasa. 


The  First  Protestant  Baptisms  in  Japan. 


270 


The  First  Protestant  Baptisms  in  Japan. 


Her  young  mistress  went  to  Osaka  with  her  husband,  where  she  soon  became 
a  leader  in  Christian  work.  When  her  husband  returned  from  a  trip  to  some 
island  and  reported  that  he  had  found  a  people  without  any  religion,  she  went  to 
the  pastor  and  begged  that  a  teacher  might  be  sent  there,  and  offered  to  pay  half 
the  salary  and  expenses.  She  has  returned  to  Nagasaki  and  is  now,  with  her 
family,  a  regular  attendant  at  the  church  in  that  place. 

Dr.  Verbeck  is  now  in  Tokio,  Japan.  One  day,  recently,  he  was  speaking  at 
a  meeting,  and  at  the  close  a  man  came  to  him  and  said  :  "  I  am  Ayabe,  the 
brother  of  Wakasa."  Since  his  baptism  he  had  been  in  the  army,  and  through  all 
these  years  had  carried  the  Bible  with  him,  reading  it  every  day.     The  next  day 


A  JAPANESE   FAMILY. 


he  came  bringing  his  only  child,  a  daughter  of  fifteen,  and  asked  that  she  might 
be  baptized.  Ayabe's  family  are  now  connected  with  the  church  in  Tokio,  and 
it  is  his  earnest  wish  to  devote  the  rest  of  his  life  to  spreading  the  gospel  in 
Japan. 


CHRISTIAN  WORK  AMONG  THE  AINU  OF  JAPAN. 


Hokkaido,  or  Yeso,  as  it  was  formerly  called,  the  northernmost  of  the  long 
stretch  of  islands  which  form  the  empire  of  Japan,  is  known  as  the  present 
home  of  the  Ainu,  who  were  driven  by  the  Japanese,  ages  ago,  from  the  warm 
southern  regions  where  the  fig  and  orange  grow,  to  this  colder  clime.  Here  the 
November  snows  often  remain  till  spring  in  the  large,  dark  forests  and  wide 
swamps  of  the  interior,  and  linger  on  the  mountain  tops  till  June.  Yet  magnolias 
and  azaleas  make  the  hillsides  gorgeous  in  spring,  and  lilies  of  the  valley  cover 
whole  fields  in  summer. 

The  greatest  length  of  the  island  is  400  miles,  and  the  population  is  about 
400,000,  of  whom  only  about  17,000  are  Ainu.  They  are  fading  away,  like 
our  own  Indians,  before  an  advancing, 
higher  civilization.  Nothing  is  known 
of  their  history  before  the  coming  of 
their  conquerors,  and  little  can  be 
gleaned  from  the  ancient  Japanese 
writings  which  date  back  to  the  first 
emperor  of  Japan,  who  was  contem- 
porary with  Manasseh,  king  of  Judah. 
As  Japanese  art  and  tradition  depict 
the  Ainu  in  the  dawn  of  history,  so 
he  is  to-day  —  thickset,  broad-chested, 
full-bearded,  with  moppy  hair  and 
large  sparkling  eyes,  poorly  clad  and 
filthy.  But  the  people  are  not  all  so 
degraded  and  depressed  as  they  seem, 
and  when  washed  and  dressed  in  their 
best  clothes,  as  they  are  at  bear  feasts 
and  funerals,  they  are  not  at  all  bad- 
looking.  They  are  whiter  than  the 
Japanese,  and  the  average  height  of 
the  men  is  five  feet  four  inches ;  of  the 
women,  five  feet  two  inches.  They 
have  been  called  a  nation  of  drunkards, 
fully  ninety-five  per  cent,  getting  in- 
toxicated whenever  they  can  upon  saki,  a  drink  made  from  fermented  rice.  It  is 
quite  generally  supposed  among  them  that  strong  drink  is  necessary  for  the  ac- 
ceptable worship  of  their  various  deities. 

For  the  Ainu  has  gods  innumerable,  although  he  considers  that  there  is  one 


AN    AINU    OVER   HIS   CUPS. 


!72 


Christian  Work  Among  the  Ainu  of  Japan. 


God  over  all  who  rules  the  others,  and  he  looks  for  a  blessed  life  beyond  the 
grave  for  all  good  people.  Their  missionary  says  that  they  are  exceedingly 
religious  in  their  own  strange  way,  yet  they  have  no  regular  times  for  religious 
exercises,  the  chief  occasions  for  worship  being  the  opening  of  a  new  house,  a 
bear  feast,  and  a  burial. 

Some  of  the  Ainu  beliefs  and  legends  are  remarkable.  For  instance,  they  say 
the  earth  is  not  flat,  but  a  vast  round  world  of  waters  in  which  are  many  coun- 
tries. They  believe  that  God  is  the  protecting  angel  of  each  individual  person, 
and  that  every  man  can  pray  to  him.  They  have  had  until  now  no  alphabet, 
no  writing,  no  numbers  above  a  thousand.     Stupid,  honest,  brave,  and  gentle, 

they  have  given  a  kind  welcome  to 
strangers,  and  we  are  now  to  tell  you 
how  they  have  begun  to  receive  the 
gospel  message. 

Devoted  Baptist  missionaries  have 
endeavored  to  labor  among  the  Ainu, 
but  have  been  hampered  by  passport 
restrictions.  Our  story  tells  of  the  life 
and  work  of  one  man,  Mr.  John 
Batchelor,  of  the  English  Church 
Missionary  Society.  He  was  born  in 
England  in  1855  and  left  school  when 
only  twelve  years  old,  working  in  vari- 
ous ways,  chiefly  as  an  undergardener, 
and  studying  far  into  the  nights  until 
he  was  nineteen.  At  that  time  his 
thoughts  were  turned  to  foreign  mis- 
sions, and  at  twenty  he  offered  him- 
self to  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
and  was  accepted.  The  Society  un- 
dertook the  guidance  and  the  expense 
of  his  education.  He  spent  one  year 
in  college  at  Reading,  England,  an- 
other in  St.  Paul's  College  at  Hong 
Kong,  and  a  third  and  fourth  year  in 
Japan,  where  in  1879  he  became  a  member  of  the  Japan  Mission  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  and  was  stationed  at  Hakodate,  on  the  island  of  Hokkaido. 

Mr.  Batchelor  had  already  visited  the  Ainu  while  taking  a  rest  on  account  of 
ill-health,  and  had  studied  their  language  "for  pleasure."  In  1882  he  was 
formally  appointed  to  labor  among  them,  and  devoted  himself  with  characteristic 
vigor  to  the  work  of  reducing  the  language  to  writing  and  of  translating  the 
Bible,  using  the  Roman  letters  instead  of  the  Chinese  characters  used  in  Japan, 
thus  greatly  simplifying  the  task  of  teaching  inquirers  and  believers  to  read. 
He  has  published  in  Ainu  the  Four  Gospels,  with  the  Epistles  to  the  Galatians, 
Ephesians,  and  Philippians,  and  those  of  James,  Peter,  John,  and  Jude,  while 
the  English  Prayer  Book,  including  the  Psalms,  was  in  press  in  1894.  To  these 
he   has   added   an   Ainu-English- Japanese   dictionary   and    a   hymn   book    and 


AINU    HUNTER. 


Christian  Work  Among  the  Ainu  of  Japan. 


catechism,  with  tracts  and  other  religious  books.  Not  content  with  these  directly 
missionary  labors,  Mr.  Batchelor  lias  written  largely  for  various  journals  and 
has  published  a  volume  entitled  The  Ainu  of  Japan,  describing  the  manners, 

customs,  and  superstitions  of  this  strange  race  in  the  hope  of  awaking  among 
his  readers  a  deeper  interest  in  the  efforts  now  making  to  bring  them  under 
the  saving  influences  of  the  gospel.  In  recognition  of  his  attainments  as  an 
ethnologist  and  philologist  Mr.  Batchelor  has  been  made  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  of  London,  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Asiatic  Society. 
But  what  are  earthly  honors  in  comparison  with  the  enduring  rewards?  It  was 
in  1885  that  Mr.  Batchelor  baptized  the  first  Ainu  convert.     A  few  more  were 


\R    FOR    HULLING    WHEAT. 


received  in  succeeding  years,  but  it  was  not  till  1893  that  there  came  a  shower  oi 
blessings.  Some  extracts  from  Mr.  Batchelor's  letters  written  at  that  time  to  The 
Church  Missionary  Gleaner  will  give  a  true  idea  of  the  man  and  bring  us  into 
closer  sympathy  with  his  work. 

"Sapporo,  Hokkaido,  August  11,  1893. 

"We  have  had  such  glorious  blessings  here  this  year  —  and  there  are  more  to 
f0U0w  — that  I  feel  irresistibly  forced  to  the  pleasure  of  writing  to  you  that 
Christ's  people  and  our  fellow-laborers  at  home  may  rejoice  with  us,  and  pray 
both  for  us  and  the  church  of  his  everlasting  kingdom  among  the  poor  Ainu. 
Surely  the  Lord  is  always  faithful  to  his  word.  He  is  ever  with  us  in  our  every 
trial,  labor,  difficulty,  and  disappointment,  to  bless  us  in  them  and  through  them 
and  by  them,  each  and  all.  Speaking  from  my  own  experience,  I  find  that  I  have 
been  all  too  ready  to  acknowledge  his  hand  in  everything  encouraging,  but  only 
too  slow  to  see  him  in  my  difficulties  among  this  people.  But  that,  I  am  happy 
to  say,  is  over  and  now  I  can  look  back  and  see  that  all  my  disappointments  have 
been  really  the  greatest  blessings,  and  that  he  has  been  with  us  all  the  time.  In 
his  name  we  give  thanks,  and  him  we  praise. 

"  One  is  sometimes  tempted  to  imagine  that  the  cares  of  the  work  are  to  be 
borne  by  the  laborer.  That  is  truly  one  of  the  greatest  mistakes  a  person  can 
make  in  any  good  thing,  but  especially  in  mission  work.  As  soon  as  ever  I 
began  to  shift  the  anxieties  of  my  labors  off  from  myself  and  cast  them  all  on  the 


274 


Christian  Work  Among  the  Ainu  of  Japan. 


Lord  Jesus,  I  experienced  as  never  before  the  truth  of  the  gracious  promise, 
'  Lo  !  I  am  with  you  alway,'  not  only  to  bless  the  worker  and  to  lessen  his  burden, 
but  also  to  cause  his  word  to  prosper  and  his  church  to  increase. 

"  Thanks  be  to  God,  after  all  the  sowing  and  preparation  work,  this  year  will 
ever  be  remembered  as  the  reaping  year  among  the  Ainu,  for  already  there  have 
been  171  baptisms  this  year,  thus  making  a  church  membership  of  179  souls, 
one  having  gone  to  be  with  Jesus  above.  There  are  still  about  200  catechumens. 
Thus  we  have  let  the  nets  down  into  deep  waters  and  they  are  full.  May  the 
Lord  keep  us  ever  prayerful,  humble,  watchful,  and  full  of  his  Holy  Spirit  and  faith  ! 

"  These  blessings  have  fallen  espe- 
cially in  Piratori,  the  old  Ainu  capital, 
where  we  first  commenced  the  work 
of  study  and  steady  sowing  in  1879. 
.  .  .  Every  woman  in  Piratori  has  ac- 
cepted Christ  as  her  Saviour.  That  is 
a  glorious  triumph  of  the  cross,  for  the 
women  hitherto  have  never  been  al- 
lowed to  have  any  religion ;  the  men 
only  have  worshiped  God.  Just  think 
of  old  women,  over  seventy  years  of 
age,  now  for  the  first  time  in  their 
lives  praying  —  and  praying  to  Jesus 
only  !  Piratori  is  by  no  means  the 
only  village  where  there  are  Chris- 
tians. There  are  others  in  several  of 
the  villages  near  by,  and  each  of  these 
forms  a  nucleus  for  other  churches. 
May  the  Lord  indeed  bless  these  dear 
Christians  and  add  to  their  numbers  !  " 

Mr.  Batchelor's  passport  was  secured 
on  the  score  of  teaching  Ainu  to  the 
Japanese,  who  recognize  him  as  an  au- 
thority in  the  language.  The  passport 
gives  him  a  residence  in  Sapporo,  whence  he  has  gone  out  for  tours  among  the 
Ainu,  averaging  four  tours  a  year,  their  average  length  being  six  weeks.  With 
the  new  treaty  revision  it  is  expected  that  foreigners  will  be  allowed  to  reside 
where  they  choose,  and  Mr.  Batchelor  wishes  to  live  in  Piratori,  where  most  of 
the  Ainu  are,  and  where  he  may  train  them  to  an  intelligent  faith. 

As  Mr.  Batchelor  is  now  only  forty  years  of  age,  we  may  hope  that  a  long 
career  of  usefulness  is  still  before  him.  He  has  a  faithful  helper  in  his  wife,  and 
has  recently  received  a  colleague  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Mr.  Nettleship.  Will 
not  this  wonderful  story  of  God's  blessing  upon  one  man's  work  stir  the  hearts 
of  all  Christians  who  read  it  to  greater  zeal  and  stronger  faith? 

For  the  photographs  from  which  our  four  cuts  have  been  made,  as  well  as  for 
the  facts  relating  to  the  personal  life  of  Mr.  Batchelor,  we  are  indebted  to  Rev. 
C.  M.  Severance,  of  our  mission  in  Japan. 


THE  ONLY  CHRISTIAN   AINU    EVANGELIST  AND 
HIS    WIFE. 


A    JAPANESE    SERMON    ON    ARROWS. 


BY    REV.    J.    II.    DE    FOREST,    D.D.,    SENDAI,    JAPAN. 


The  old  warriors  of  Japan  are  famous  for  their  skilful  use  of  the  bow  and 
arrow.  The  ordinary  bow  is  seven  feet  long,  and  the  arrow  three.  So  stiff  are 
some  of  these  bows  that  it  takes  a  strong  arm  to  string  them,  and  a  stronger  arm 
to  pull  the  string.  And  the  deadly  arrows,  with  their  long,  sharp  iron  barbs, 
are  a  very  formidable  weapon.  Wars  with  bows  and  arrows  are  ended  forever, 
but  were  you  to  visit  the  homes  of  the  old  Samurai  class  you  would  see  in  many 
of  them  the  standing  quiver  full  of  barbed  arrows,  and  the  bows  unstrung  against 
the  wall.  Though  useless  for  warlike  purposes,  the  Japanese  love  to  sport  with 
the  bow.  The  iron  barb  is  replaced  by  a  little  iron  button,  and  a  little  mound  of 
earth  is  erected  for  the  target. 

Since  their  history  is  full  of  thrilling  stories  about  the  bow,  and  since  it  lives  in 
their  sports,  you  can  easily  see  how  some  of  the  Old  Testament  stories  about  this 
same  weapon  would  excite  the  thoughts  of  young  men  here.  I  have  heard  and 
read  sermons  on  one  arrow  text — "  A  certain  man  drew  a  bow  at  a  venture,  and 
smote  the  king  of  Israel  between  the  joints  of  the  harness"  —  to  show  that  it 
is  better  for  Christians  to  fire  away  at  their  unbelieving  friends  at  random  rather 
than  not  to  fire  at  all.  But  the  sermon  I  heard  at  Sunday-school  to-day  on 
arrows,  by  the  principal  of  the  Boys'  School,  was  first-rate,  so  good,  indeed,  that 
it  can't  help  doing  other  Sunday-schools  good.  I  will  tell  it  as  nearly  as  I  can 
remember  in  the  words  of  the  speaker. 

"  I  found  a  very  interesting  text  the  other  day  in  the  Old  Testament  on  arrows, 
and  at  once  thought  it  would  be  just  the  thing  for  a  morning  talk  to  you.  but 
this  morning  when  I  went  to  look  for  my  text,  hunt  all  I  would,  I  could  not  find 
it.  I  've  forgotten  the  text,  unfortunately,  but  not  the  thoughts  it  excited  in  my 
mind  ;  and  so  I  '11  give  you  the  thoughts  without  the  text.  The  arrows  are 
Christians.  The  quiver  into  which  they  are  put  is  the  Church.  The  one  who 
puts  them  there  is  God.  If  you  understand  this,  then  there  are  three  very  singu- 
lar and  interesting  things  to  bear  in  mind. 

"  First.  An  arrow  is  good  for  nothing  except  to  Jo  the  work  of  an  arrow. 
Try  to  dig  up  your  garden  with  one  or  to  make  a  kite,  and  you  '11  see  at  once  that 
it  never  was  made  for  such  a  purpose.  It  has  only  one  aim,  one  purpose,  and 
outside  of  that  it  is  worthless.  It  must  go  where  it  is  sent.  That  is  just  what 
we,  the  living  arrows  of  God,  must  do.  We  must  go  straight  for  the  prize  with- 
out any  wanderings.      We  must  hit  the  mark  God  has  set  up  for  us  to  hit. 

27s 


276 


A  Japanese  Sermon  on  Arrows. 


"  Second.  Whoever  sees  an  arrow  knows  at  onee  that  it  is  an  arrow.  Any 
one  knows  that  it  is  not  a  stick  nor  a  pen,  but  an  arrow.  He  knows,  too,  whether 
it  is  a  good  arrow  or  not,  whether  it  is  straight  or  crooked,  well  barbed  or  not, 
and  whether  it  will  do  the  work  it  ought  to  do.  Now,  are  not  Christians  just 
like  arrows  ?  Any  one  can  tell  whether  we  are  good  Christians  or  not,  whether 
we  are  straight  or  crooked  in  our  lives.  If  any  one  on  seeing  and  becoming 
acquainted  with  us  does  not  know  that  we  are  arrows  of  God  without  being  told, 

then  that  is  proof  that 
we  are  not  arrows  at  all. 
"Third.  An  arrow 
is  a  powerful  weapon, 
but  it  can't  do  a  thing 
of  itself .  When  the  war- 
rior has  put  it  on  the 
string,  pulled  the  bow, 
and  sent  the  arrow,  then 
it  flies  with  lightning 
speed  to  do  the  warrior's 
will.  But  of  itself  it 
never  could  do  any 
work.  A  fool  might 
come  along  and,  picking 
up  the  arrow,  put  the 
feather-end  to  the  bow 
and  pull,  but  the  arrow 
would  drop  at  once 
without  accomplishing 
anything.  So  the  Chris- 
tian is  of  no  use  unless 
he  puts  himself  entirely 
in  God's  hand  and  is 
sent,  right  end  forward, 
to  do  God's  work.  If 
the  devil  tries  to  deceive 
him  and  get  him  to  do  some  dirty,  wicked  work,  he  will  stop  at  once  and  refuse 
to  stir  for  the  old  fool. 

"  Now  you  see  what  I  mean.  Each  one  of  you  should  ever  be  saying  to  your- 
self, '  I  am  an  arrow  of  the  Lord.  He  put  me  into  his  quiver  and  has  girded  me 
on  his  thigh.     I  am  ready  to  do  his  will,  to  be  sent  on  his  swift  errands.'  " 

Here  ends  this  sermonette  that  took  but  a  few  moments  in  the  delivery,  and 
during  which  no  one  went  to  sleep.  The  preacher  lost  his  text,  indeed,  but  his 
three  points  are  worth  remembering.  He  lost  his  quiver,  but  not  his  three  arrows. 
If  you  who  hear  this  should  find  his  quiver,  perhaps  you  would  see  more  arrows 
in  it. 


'  The  Mikado's  Empire."  ^~"cri<-ht,  ]«7u,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 

A  JAPANESE   ARCHER    OF  THE   OLD   TIME. 


THE  STUDY  OF  ENGLISH   IN  JAPAN. 

BY    REV.    (ins    CARY,    OF   OSAKA,    JAPAN. 

For  some  time  young  Japan  has  been  eager  to  study  English,  and,  when  pos- 
sible,   instruction   is   sought   from  a  foreigner.     Missionaries,  especially  in  the 

interior,  are  constantly  urged  to  receive  persons  as  pupils.  In  the  larger  towns 
there  are  now  Japanese  teachers  who  are  able  to  give  instruction  in  the  rudiments 
of  the  language.  In  smaller  places.it  is  more  difficult  to  find  a  teacher,  though 
some  do  business  on  a  very  small  stock  of  knowledge.  A  missionary  reports 
having  seen,  in  an  interior  town,  the  sign  of  a  private  school  where,  among  other 
things,  instruction  in  English  was  promised.  On  inquiry  he  found  that  the  prin- 
cipal taught  the  alphabet  as  far  as  the  letter  K. 

Many  who  are  unable  to  find  time  or  money  for  instruction  by  a  teacher  seek 
the  desired  learning  by  means  of  books.  Merchants,  policemen,  and  even  work- 
ing men,  may  be  found  poring  over  their  English  primers.  Sometimes  a  jinriki- 
sha  coolie,  while  waiting  for  a  passenger,  pulls  out  one  of  these  books  for  study. 
A  few  years  since  readers  and  spelling-books  were  chiefly  imported  from  America, 
but  now  most  of  them  are  reprinted  in  Japan.  The  old  Webster's  spelling-book, 
after  instructing  several  generations  of  American  children,  has  had  a  new  lease  of 
life  there,  scores  of  editions  being  issued  by  different  publishers.  Some  of  the 
Japanese  reprints  of  American  and  English  schoolbooks  are  almost  perfect  fac- 
similes, hardly  to  be  distinguished  either  in  print  or  illustrations  from  the  origi- 
nals ;  while  others  are  full  of  misspelled  words,  misplaced  capitals,  and  similar 
errors.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  no  teachers,  some  editions  are  fur- 
nished with  interlinear  translations,  and  also  an  attempt  is  made  to  represent  the 
pronunciation  by  the  use  of  Japanese  characters. 

The  most  amusing  books,  however,  are  those  originating  in  Japan.  Of  these 
there  is  a  great  variety,  having  different  shades  of  English.  Here  are  some  speci- 
mens of  the  titles:  "English  Language  Guided  by  the  Pictures."  ''The  Ariadne 
Guide  to  the  Labyrinth  of  the  English  Language,"  "  Conversations  in  English 
and  Japanese  for  Merchant  who  the  English  Language." 

In  some  of  the  books  the  sentences  given  as  models  for  conversation  are  cor- 
rect ;  but  in  the  vast  majority  there  are  numberless  mistakes  in  spelling  and  gram- 
mar. A  few  extracts  will  show  this.  "  This  is  the  shop  they  say  well  stocked  and 
accustomed."  "  Here  show  me  the  silk  of  blue-sky."  "  Walk  in,  gentleman." 
"Here  is,  sir."  "Halloo!  Is  watch  ready?"  "Did  you  commanded  some 
mending?  "  "  Oh  !  Mr.  Sasaya's,  it  is  not  finished  a  little  yet."  "  Willy  ou  stav 
and  take  dinner  with  u."  "Will  you  take  white  or  bro  wnbread.  It  is  puite 
inte  indifferent  to  me." 

Many  of  the  books  are  little  more  than  collections  of  English  words  with  their 
Japanese  equivalents  and  illustrations  of  the  objects  named.     The  accompanying 


78 


The  Study  of  English  in  Japan. 


photographic  reproductions  show  the  exact  size  and  character  of  two  pages   of 
an  English  pocket  dictionary  used  in  Japan. 


FACSIMILE   OF  TWO    PAGES   OF   A    JAPANESE-EUGLISH    DICTIONARY. 

Some  of  this  peculiar  style  of  English  finds  its  use  upon  the  shop  signs.  Here 
are  a  few  specimens  :  — 

"  Japan  and  Fourgen  colth  sell  shop."  (The  third  and  fourth  words  are  evi- 
dently intended  for  "foreign  cloth.")  "European  Several  Articles  for  Sale." 
"Sale  for  a  Plate  of  Food.  Sale  for  a  Glass  of  Wine."  "  Great  dealer  of  win 
and  man-of-war  beer."  "To  sell  insurable  watches."  "Meat  Pot  Shop." 
(Tinned  meats.)     "  Wine  beer  and  other." 

Though  the  quality  of  the  English  instruction  given  in  the  public  schools  is 
constantly  improving,  it  will  be  some  time  ere  there  is  a  sufficient  number  of 
competent  teachers.  This  is  one  among  many  reasons  for  the  popularity  of  our 
mission  schools,  which  are  filled  to  overflowing.  Graduates  of  these  schools  are 
also  teaching  in  several  cities  where  the  Christians  have  established  schools  of 
their  own.  This  desire  for  English  education  is  a  great  help  to  us,  since  it  gives 
many  opportunities  for  influencing  the  young  men  and  young  women.  The 
Christian  schools  of  Japan  are  doing  a  great  and  important  work.  Through  them 
we  are  getting  an  increasing  company  of  persons  who,  in  the  pulpit  and  else- 
where, are  exerting  a  strong  religious  influence  and  hastening  the  time  when 
Japan  shall  be  won  for  Christ. 


■E 


V1 


ItSii 


m 


A    BASKET   OF   MISSIONARY   CHIPS. 

PICKED    UP    IN    A    HURRY. 


1U'   A    MISSIONARY    IN    JAPAN. 


The  summer  school  of  the  Japan  Mission  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  on  Mt.  Hiei 
had  come  to  an  end.  And  though  the  September  sun  was  scorching  hot,  duty 
called  us  to  go  down  into  the  heat  and  take  our  chances  of  being  baked  alive 
So  we  went  many  hundred  miles,  half-suffocating,  across  the  plains  of  Japan,  to 
our  distant  station,  no  matter  what  its  name,  for  I  may  write  some  things  that  it 
would  be  better  not  to  locate  with  too  great  precision.  We  no  sooner  arrived 
than  we  were  cordially  invited  by  the  trustees  of  a  certain  school  to  attend  a 
meeting,  at  which  it  was  proposed  to  recognize  the  assistance  we  had  given  the 
school  by  presenting  each  of  us  missionary  teachers  with  a  gold  medal.  Of 
course  we  accepted  the  invitation,  and  a  high  official  made  the  presentation 
speech,  whereupon  we  stepped  forward  and  received  the  medals  from  his  hand. 
Another  high  official  kindly  congratulated  us,  and  just  at  that  moment  a  congrat- 
ulatory telegram  from  one  of  the  peers  of  Japan,  who  is  quite  interested  in  the 
school,  was  announced  and  read.  To  top  off  with  there  was  a  feast  that,  with 
the  speeches,  lasted  three  hours,  and  that  day's  work  was  done. 

A    FUNERAL. 

Yesterday  my  house  was  opened  for  the  funeral  service  of  one  who  had  been 
my  servant  for  four  years.  As  I  was  greatly  amazed  at  the  addresses  made,  I  will 
give  the  drift  of  some  of  the  remarks.  The  brother-in-law,  an  evangelist  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  said  that  the  man,  when  a  boy,  was  one  of  the  worst  in  the 
whole  city,  and  a  constant  source  of  anxiety  and  shame  to  his  relatives.  He  left 
home  early  and  went  to  Tokyo  with  the  determination  to  be  a  leader  in  even- 
form  of  wickedness.  He  went  with  the  worst  people,  tried  to  outdrink  the 
heaviest  drinkers,  engaged  in  rough  fights,  repeatedly  wounded  others,  was 
himself  sometimes  knocked  down,  and  once  or  twice  was  thought  to  be  killed. 
Arrested  repeatedly,  he  was  known  in  nearly  every  police  station  in  that  wide 
city. 

Of  course  he  wasted  his  strength,  was  reduced  to  a  mere  wreck  of  a  man,  and 
after  twenty  years  of  such  a  life  was  contemplating  some  extreme  act,  when  his 
uncle,  from  a  distant  province,  providentially  met  him,  but  passed  him,  not  quite 
recognizing  the  changed  face.  He  turned  and  called  the  nephew's  name.  The 
ruined  man  of  forty  turned  too,  and  the  meeting  was  in  every  way  the  turning- 
point  of  a  singularly  wretched  life.  He  was  taken  home,  and  as  his  sisters  and 
father  sat  around  him  they  prostrated  their  whole  bodies  hard  on  the  mats  before 


28o 


A  Basket  of  Missionary  Chips. 


him,  and  with  deep  sobs  begged  him,  in  the  name  of  their  new  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ,  to  cease  his  evil  ways  and  become  a  new  man.  They  covered  his  sins 
and  his  weaknesses,  giving  him  of  their  own  strength  and  joy.     Their  pastor  got 


him  a  place  in  my  house,  keeping  me  in  ignorance  of  his  desperate  character. 
As  we  wanted  a  man  and  wife  for  our  work,  they  trotted  around  and  found  him 
a  Christian  widow,  much  older  than  he,  and  brought  her  to  us  first  to  see  if  she 


./  Basket  of  Missionary  Chips.  28 1 

would  answer  our  purposes.  He  peeped  through  the  crack  of  the  paper  slides 
to  sec  the  tare  of  His  future  wife,  while  we  decided  whether  she  would  suit 
not.  We  liked  her,  and  so  he  married  her.  And  during  these  four  years  this 
once  reckless  man  has  been  a  faithful  servant,  dropping  all  his  had  habits  hut  the 
memory  of  them,  and  serving  his  Saviour  with  such  repentance  and  sincerity  that 
he  has  led  many  to  study  his  religion,  three  of  whom  are  now  asking  for  baptism. 
This  story  touched  us  all  with  a  new  sense  of  the  power  of  Christ  to  change  a 
man's  character.  Two  Japanese  pastors,  who  had  studied  in  the  State,,  poke  at 
his  funeral,  and  two  others  attended  his  burial. 

THE    LEPER'S    HOME. 

As  my  passport  was  good  for  fifteen  days  more,  I  planned  a  trip  with  our 
Japanese  pastor  to  one  of  our  out-stations,  where  live  three  young  men  who 
have  just  been  graduated  from  our  Theological  Seminary  in  Kyoto,  and  were 
beginning  in  the  North  their  first  missionary  work.  We  were  met  at  the  station 
by  two  of  the  Christians  and  escorted  four  miles,  in  jinrikishas,  to  the  village, 
where  we  were  entertained  in  the  home  of  a  leper.  His  house  was  large  and 
clean  and  attractive,  as  all  the  houses  of  well-to-do  Japanese  are.  The  only 
drawback  was  the  disease  that  all  the  world  over  is  dreaded  as  one  of  the  bitterest 
woes  that  can  befall  a  human  being.  It  had  come  to  this  young  man  in  the 
prime  of  life,  when  his  ambition  and  hopes  were  high,  and  had  filled  him  with 
despair  and  had  driven  his  bride  in  disgust  from  his  side.  But  just  then  the  glad 
tidings  that  somehow  are  able  to  give  divinest  hopes  where  all  is  dark  found 
him  and  her  too.  I  baptized  them.  They  have  eaten  at  my  table  and  I  have 
made  their  home  my  headquarters.  While  there  this  time  the  Christians  came 
freely  as  usual  —  men  of  rank  and  learning  as  well  as  the  ignorant  commoners. 
One  visitor  is  a  member  of  the  first  parliament.  Not  a  word  or  look  could  be 
detected  that  showed  any  hesitation  in  being  with  a  leper. 

A    THANKSGIVING    SERVICE. 

At  this  village  on  the  next  day  a  preaching  and  communion  service  was  held 
in  the  morning,  and  the  afternoon  found  us  with  two  more  meetings  on  hand, 
one  a  service  of  gratitude  in  view  of  the  three  graduates  who,  for  the  first  time 
since  baptism,  were  now  meeting  with  their  old  friends.  The  meeting-house  is 
the  second  story  of  a  little  factory  where  silk  is  reeled  from  the  boiled  cocoons. 
The  reels  and  simple  hand-machinery  were  packed  at  the  ends  of  the  hall,  while 
the  Christians  were  packed  in  the  centre.  Among  the  thanksgiving  speeches 
was  one  by  a  member  of  Parliament,  whose  political  life  had  evidently  not 
dampened  his  faith  in  the  worth  and  need  of  Christianity.  The  work  of  the 
American  Board  here  was  most  emphatically  praised,  and  nothing  that  has  been 
done  by  missionaries  in  this  village  or  by  the  teachers  of  the  Kyoto  School  for 
the  good  of  this  region  was  forgotten.  A  new  spirit  of  consecration  and  deter- 
mination to  work  for  the  north  of  Japan  was  evident  in  the  words  of  these 
young  men. 

ONE    OF   THE    SOSHI. 

We  visited  a  town  which  has  sent  over  a  dozen  students  to  schools  in  which 
our  missionaries  teach.     One  of  the  Northeastern  Band,   formed    by    the    stu- 


2S2 


A  Basket  of  Missionary  Chips. 


dents  in  Kyoto  from  this  region  who  are  organized  for  the  purpose  of  pushing 
Christian  work,  has  been  working  there  two  months,  and  with  the  help  of  these 


students  has  led  over  twenty  persons  to  begin  the  study  of  the  Bible.  It  is  a 
thoroughly  wideawake  town,  with  political  influence  enough  to  have  one  of  its 
citizens  elected  to  parliament.     Some  700  were  present  to  listen  to  four  addresses 


A  Basket  of  Missionary  t  hips.  283 

on  Christianity.    Among  these  were  conservative  Confucianists,  school-teachers, 

Neo  linddhists,  and  Soshi. 

These  Litter  are  a  class  of  wild  young  men  who  arc  giving  Japan  much  trouble 
by  their  disorderly  conduct  toward  officials,  several  of  whom  have  been  attacked 
and  wounded  by  them.  Arrests  do  not  seem  to  lessen  their  number.  One  of 
these  rough  leaders,  who  could  boast  of  having  used  his  cane  on  the  head  of  a 
member  of  parliament,  was  present  with  the  distinct  purpose  of  breaking  up  our 
meeting.  Hut  the  eloquent  and  pointed  address  of  the  pastor  was  '"  so  sweet" 
that  he  confessed  the  next  day  to  the  evangelist  that  he  could  not  find  any  good 
chance  to  raise  a  disturbance.  He  thought  his  time  for  an  attack  had  come  in 
my  >peech  when  I  quoted  Dr.  Neesima  as  having  said  that  Buddhism  did  not 
allow  a  woman  to  go  to  Paradise,  since  from  birth  she  is  an  unclean  thing.  At 
this  he  stood,  and  flourishing  his  stick,  shouted,  "  It 's  a  lie  !  a  lie  !  "  To  which 
I  replied  that,  if  it  were  a  lie,  he  could  thank  one  of  his  own  nation  for  it,  as  I 
was  merely  quoting  the  words  of  a  Japanese.  Thus  I  saved  my  skull,  perhaps, 
from  the  crack  of  a  soshi's  stick.  At  any  rate  he  made  no  more  disturbance. 
He  told  the  evangelist  afterward  that  he  never  knew  that  Christianity  was  so 
widely  concerned  with  every  department  of  life — with  the  family,  society, 
education,  and  government.     "  I  must  look  into  it  for  myself,"  he  said. 

"Well,  then,  how  about  your  sake-drinking?  Two  quarts  a  day,  is  it?  Can 
you  stop  off  ?  " 

To  this  he  replied,  "  I  hardly  know.  'T  would  be  pretty  hard.  I  might  try 
it  gradually —  a  quart  a  day  for  a  while,  and  see." 

THE    STUDENT    CLASSES. 

In  the  near  Government  College  of  600  students  is  a  band  of  about  twenty- 
five  Christians.  I  have  long  been  wanting  an  invitation  to  their  club,  but  a 
foreigner  must  not  seek  it.  My  study,  however,  is  open  every  Saturday  night  for 
any  students,  and  last  week  eighteen  came,  of  whom  three  belonged  to  the  club. 
We  had  a  talk  together  for  two  hours  and  a  half  on  the  question  whether  Japa- 
nese have  souls  or  not.  There  were  those  who  frankly  said  that  they  did  not 
know  what  a  soul  is,  and  so  of  course  did  n't  know  whether  they  had  any  or  not. 
We  are  living  in  a  land  where  persons,  otherwise  intelligent,  sometimes  beg  a 
missionary  to  be  so  kind  as  to  prove  that  they  have  souls  !  And  we  are  dealing 
with  a  language  in  which  the  term  for  God  may  mean  800,000  gods,  or  one's 
own  soul,  or  something  strange,  or  perhaps  the  one  God.  So  we  have  to  go 
very  carefully,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  people  don't  know  about  a  thing  that  in 
one  connection  may  mean  one  thing  and  in  another  something  decidedly  differ- 
ent. Well,  the  meeting  was  not  a  sleepy  one.  You  may  be  sure  that  if  foreign- 
ers have  souls  and  they  are  worth  having,  the  Japanese  don't  want  to  be  without 
them.  The  interest  awakened  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact  that  I  was  invited 
to  meet  with  the  club  every  Sunday,  if  possible. 

On  looking  over  this  basket  of  chips  they  look  rather  dry.  But  it  occurs  to 
me  that  it  takes  dry  chips  to  start  a  fire.  And  if  you  who  read  this  will  only 
take  pains  to  think  over  the  various  classes  I  have  written  about,  and  bring  a  little- 
spark  of  divine  fire  inu?  these  chips,  they  will  surely  make  a  little  flame  — 
perhaps  a  large  one. 


<^^^|r  ^j^p  WM^  "^ ''  jfcK3 


ANOTHER  BASKET  OF  CHIPS  FROM  JAPAN, 

PICKED   UP    BY   THE    SAME    MISSIONARY    IN    1 89  2. 


A  friend  has  wittily  said  of  my  former  "  Basket  of  Missionary  Chips  "  :  "  If  I 
could  pick  up  chips  like  those,  I  'd  stay  out  by  the  woodpile  all  the  time."  So 
I  am  encouraged  to  try  another  basketful,  if  one  can  be  said  to  gather  chips  on 
a  trip  of  500  miles.  And  to  start  with,  I  confess  to  have  stolen  some  of  these 
chips  from  the  woodpiles  of  my  friends  who  did  n't  seem  to  want  them. 

On  my  journey  to  Osaka,  to  attend  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Kumi-ai  churches 
in  connection  with  the  American  Board,  I  went  through  the  earthquake  region 
where  in  October,  1891,  8,000  people  perished  in  a  few  minutes,  and  where 
whole  villages  and  towns  were  thrown  down.  It  is  over  six  months  since  the 
terrible  disaster,  yet  every  day  and  night  lesser  shocks  occur,  so  that  only  re- 
cently has  it  been  possible  to  sleep  there  all  night  without  being  awakened  by 
the  restless  earth.  I  planned  to  stop  there  a  night  in  order  to  get  one  little 
shock  as  a  memento  of  this  woful  region,  and  I  was  indeed  well  favored. 
About  three  in  the  morning  I  was  awakened  by  the  deep  rumbling  of  the  coming 
earthquake,  and  before  my  eyes  were  fairly  opened  the  hotel  was  going  like  a 
ship  in  a  storm,  the  walls  cracking  with  an  ominous  sound.  Just  as  I  began  to 
wonder  if  this  wasn't  rather  more  of  a  souvenir  than  I  really  desired  for  my 
happiness,  the  awkward  motion  ceased.  Its  business  ability  can  be  somewhat 
estimated  from  the  fact  that  it  extended  over  a  hundred  miles  and  shook  up  a 
dozen  large  cities. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  churches  in  connection  with  the  American  Board  the 
largest  church  in  Osaka  was  well  filled  with  the  delegates  and  evangelists,  who 
gathered  to  represent  the  10,000  Christians  who  are  already  members  of  our 
Kumi-ai  churches.  The  faith  of  the  pastors  and  evangelists  in  the  progress  of 
Christianity  was  conspicuously  seen  in  this,  that  although  the  year  has  been 
rather  disastrous  in  several  of  our  educational  institutions,  and  although,  as  one 
of  the  speakers  vividly  said,  "  two  thirds  of  our  churches  are  in  a  perilous  condi- 
tion," yet  it  was  planned  to  stretch  up  north  to  the  Hokkaido  (Yezo),  down 
south  to  the  Loochoo  Islands,  and  east  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  In  all  these 
directions  there  are  very  providential  leadings. 

The  story  of  the  work  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  is  peculiarly  interesting.  A 
Japanese  who  had  recently  come  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  was  introduced  to 
the  meeting  at  Osaka  and  said:  '-There  are  20,000  Japanese  there  on  sugar 
plantations  ;  there  are  over  a  hundred  Christians  in  my  church.  I  have  come 
here  for  two  or  three  pastors  an  1  evangelists  to  go  over  there  with  me  and  help 
in  this  unusual  field.     The  laborers  there  are  largely  ignorant,  and  being  away 

28.1 


Another  Basket  of  Chips  from  Japan. 


2.x  5 


«r 


'X 


from  their  native  land  and  from  the  restraints  of  our  national  are   drift- 

ing into  gambling  and  drinking  and  all  sorts  of  low  living.     Now  is  the  time  to 

do  something  grand  for  our  brothers.  We  (  an  save  them  if  we  go  now.  Hun- 
dreds of  them  will  become  good  Christian-,,  and  when  their  three  years'  contract 
is  up  they  will  return  here  and  will  be  the  means  of  opening  scores  of  villages 
to  Christian  teaching.  We  shall  help  all  Japan  if  we  help  those  jo,ooo  brothers 
over  there." 

This  is  good  doctrine,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  before  yo  1  read  this  some 
steamer  will  be  on  her  way  to  Hawaii  with  the  first  band  of  Japanese  mission- 
aries who  have  ever  gone  to  work  in  a  foreign  land. 

This  Christian  worker  from  Hawaii  delighted  his  audience  with  many  a  stirring 
story,  one  of  which  I  will  try  to  narrate  :  "  Not  long  ago  a  foreigner  was  mak- 
ing his  first  visit  to  Japan.  After  spending  several  days  in  seeing  the  sights 
of  Yokohama  and  Tokyo,  one  of  his  friends  inquired,  'Have  you  seen  ///' 
'  What  ?  '  he  replied.  '  Oh,  it.  When  you 
see  it,  you  will  know  it ;  nobody  will  have  to 
tell  you.'  So  every  time  the  newly  arrived 
foreigner  went  out  he  kept  his  eyes  open  for 
it,  but  saw  nothing  so  superlatively  above  all 
other  things.  One  day,  however,  as  the 
clouds  and  mist  that  sometimes  hang  on  the 
Japanese  horizon  for  weeks  were  breaking 
away,  he  saw  before  him  high  up  in  the 
heavens  the  snow-capped  peak  of  peerless 
Fujiyama  flashing  the  light  from  its  glory- 
sheeted  sides  and  looking  like  some  mighty 
fairy  castle  floating  on  a  broad  bank  of 
clouds.  'O/i,  I've  seen  it!  I've  seen  it 
now/'  he  exclaimed  when  he  met  his  friend. 

"  Now  every  country  has  an  it  that  it 's 
worth  while  to  seek,  and  when  I  went  to  the 
United  States  I  began  to  look  sharp  for  it, 
for  I  wanted  to  see  whether  America's  it 
was  as   good   as  our  it.     Well,  I  saw  their 

grand  houses  and  stores  from  five  to  twenty  stories  high,  and  the  vast  wealth  of 
their  cities,  but  I  did  n't  think  that  could  be  it.  I  visited  their  wonderful  factories 
filled  with  yet  more  wonderful  machinery  that  seemed  to  work  as  if  it  had  brains, 
yet  after  all  this  inventive  power  did  n't  seem  quite  worthy  to  be  called  it.  Then 
I  crossed  their  high  Rocky  Mountains  and  saw  the  grandeur  of  American 
scenery,  but  I  did  n't  see  it  anywhere.  Gradually  I  got  into  the  homes  of  the 
people  and  began  to  see  the  moral  power  that  controls  so  much  of  the  life  of  the 
nation.  I  witnessed  their  worship  of  the  invisible  God  and  learned  the  story 
of  Christ.  lAh!  now  I  have  seen  it."  I  said.  '  //  is  Christianity/  it  is 
Christ/'" 

If  all  the  homes  of  our  beloved  native  land  were  so  full  of  the  joy  and  peace 
and  hope  and  love  of  Christ  that  our  brothers  from  these  great  nations  of  Asia 


'THE    MATCHLESS    MOUNTAIN." 


286 


Another  Basket  of  Chips  from  Japan. 


would  always  find  it  whenever  they  visit  our  shores,  and  would  go  back  saying 
with  enthusiasm  to  their  friends,  "  Oh,  I  've  seen  America's  it,  it  is  Christ/  "  then 


this   mighty  missionary  problem,   over  which  we  are   stumbling  and   at  which 

skeptics  are  laughing,  would  be  solved  once  for  all  in  this  our  day  and  generation. 

At  the  Osaka  meeting  they  set  apart  two  evenings  in  which  the  leaders  who 


Another   Basket  of  Chips  from  Japan,  287 

had  gathered  from  the  north,  south,  east,  and  wrest  might  freely  tell  their  experi- 
ences in  the  work.  Among  them  was  one  young  evangelist  who  is  said  to  be 
doing  llrst-ratc  work  in  an  inland  town.  I  know  his  lather  well,  and  think  I 
baptized  him  about  fourteen  years  ago.     At  any  rate  when  the  father  became  a 

Christian  he  told  me  how,  when  his  children  were  increasing  too  rapidly  for  his 
limited  means,  he  determined  to  drown  his  little  baby  boy.  "So  one  morning," 
said  he,  "  I  took  him  in  my  arms  early  and  went  to  the  canal.  I  was  just 
to  throw  him  in,  but  thought  I  M  take  one  more  look.  Just  then  the  baby  smiled 
and  cooed  at  me,  and  it  took  all  the  heart  right  out  of  me  for  the  bad  deed. 
I  carried  him  back  home,  and  now  that  I  've  become  a  Christian  I  hope  my  boy 
will  Ljrow  up  to  be  one  too."  The  boy  has  grown  up,  and  the  grateful  father, 
whose  bad  heart  was  smiled  out  of  him  by  his  baby  boy,  now  hears  his  son 
telling  the  old,  old  story  that  has  taken  the  bad  heart  out  of  so  many  tens  of 
thousands  in  every  age  and  in  every  land.  I  must  add  here  that  the  power  of 
parents  over  the  lives  of  their  babies  was  done  away  with  by  vigorous  laws  many 
years  ago. 

As  soon  as  I  returned  from  this  long  trip  a  Christian  student  called,  whose  face 
showed  signs  of  deep  trouble.  He  had  been  for  two  years  a  successful  worker 
in  Sunday-schools,  and  besides  that  he  had  started  a  Christian  club  in  the  school 
where  he  was  studying.  He  had  carefully  saved  up  from  his  allowance  enough  to 
give  him  the  hope  of  entering  our  theological  school  in  Kyoto.  He  belongs  to 
an  ancient  family  and  his  house  holds  the  proud  rank  of  being  the  first  in  all 
that  region.  But  all  of  his  relatives  are  bitter  against  Christianity,  and  when 
they  found  out  his  determination  to  study  theology  and  be  a  Christian  minister, 
their  disappointment  deepened  into  anger  that  would  not  listen  to  reason.  The 
mother,  with  the  fearless  decision  of  a  Samurai,  at  last  gave  her  best  beloved  boy 
to  understand  that  if  he  persisted  she  would  wipe  out  the  disgrace  by  suicide. 
The  boy  of  eighteen  well  knew  the  spirit  of  his  mother,  and  after  a  week  of 
struggle,  such  as  young  men  are  seldom  called  to  pass  through,  he  yielded  and 
promised  to  study  medicine.  His  tried  face  told  of  the  mental  pain  he  has 
suffered.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  I  do  not  waver  in  my  determination  to  use  my  life 
for  Christ.  If  I  must  study  medicine,  I  will  use  medicine  as  a  means  of  extend- 
ing the  knowledge  of  Christ's  gospel." 

The  student's  call  was  followed  by  a  visit  from  the  wife  of  an  evangelist  from 
the  large  island  in  the  north  that  used  to  be  called  Yezo,  now  Hokkaido. 
This  lady  told  me  that  some  of  the  Christians  in  Sapporo  sent  two  telegrams  to 
the  annual  meeting  in  Osaka  inquiring  whether  the  American  Board  would  at 
once  establish  a  station  in  this  northern  island.  It  was  a  great  delight  to  hear 
her  tell  about  different  individuals  whom  I  well  knew  but  had  not  seen  for  a 
long  time.  One  was  an  army  officer  whom  I  baptized  several  years  ago,  and 
who  with  his  wife  is  doing  excellent  Christian  work.  Another  was  a  young 
evangelist  with  whom  I  have  often  preached,  and  who  has  given  up  his  office  as 
evangelist  to  become  a  farmer,  for  the  noble  reason  that  he  cannot  win  the  poor 
farmers  without  himself  becoming  one  with  them  in  daily  toil.  "You  are  paid 
to  tell  us  these  things,"  said  a  skeptical  farmer  to  him  last  year  ;  "  anil  you  get 
twice  as  much  doing  that  as  we  can  by  farming."     So  the  evangelist  wrote  me 


288  Another  Basket  of  Chips  from  Japan. 

he  was  going    to    be  a  farmer  for    Christ's  sake,  and  that  is  what    he  's  doing 
now. 

Whether  these  chips  are  worth  picking  up  or  not  must  be  left  to  you  who  take 
a  look  at  them.     There  is  a  chip  story  which  says  that  when  a  certain  man  tried 


PILGRIMS    TO    MOUNT    FUJI. 


to  get  warm  by  the  fire  of  the  chips  a  viper  came  out  and  fastened  on  him. 
I  sincerely  hope  that  out  of  this  basket  of  chips  there  will  come  out  nothing  like 
vipers,  nothing  but  warmth. 


MR.  ISHII    AND   HIS   ORPHANAGE. 

BY  REV.  J.  H.  PETTEE,  OKAYAMA,  JAPAN. 


Mr.  J.  Ishii,  of  Okayama,  is  perhaps  the  most  widely  known  of  living 
Japanese  Christians.  So  many  inquiries  have  been  received  in  regard  to  the 
man  and  his  work  that  a  brief  record  of  the  leading  events  of  his  life,  taken 
mainly  from  his  lips,  will  here  be  given. 

Mr.  Ishii  was  born  at 
Takanabe,  on  the  island 
of  Kiushiu,  in  April, 
1865.  His  parents  were 
Samurai  of  good  stand- 
ing, his  father  having 
been  a  highly  respected 
official  in  the  local  Pub- 
lic Works  Department. 
His  mother  embraced 
Christianity  in  1888,  his 
father,  though  a  believer 
in  the  Western  religion, 
never  having  made  a 
public  confession  of 
Christ.  The  boy  was 
early  sent  to  school  and 
his  training  was  care- 
fully watched. 

At  the  age  of  eleven 
or  twelve  young  Ishii's 
attention  was  first  called 
to  the  Christian  religion. 
Strange  and  crude  as 
that  experience  was,  he 
marks  it  as  the  first  in 
a  chain  of  causes  bring- 
ing about  his  present 
religious  condition.  In 
reading  a  translation  of  Peter  Parley's  History  of  the  World,  he  saw  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  cross  in  a  picture  of  the  Crusaders.  A  school  friend  told  him 
that  if  he  worshiped  the  cross  unseen  by  others  he  could  work  magic  {ma ho)  ; 
so  he  tried  it  often,  saying  over  when  by  himself,  "  Christo  Jiuji   gun    Dono 

289 


MR.    ISHII. 


290  Ishii  and  Ids  Orphanage. 

(O  Christ,  Lord  of  the  Army  of  the  Cross)."     Mr.  Ishii  dates  his  first  idea  of 
an  unseen,  all-powerful  God,  and  of  prayer,  from  that  crude  boyish  experience. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  young  Ishii  was  sent  to  a  private  school  in  Toyko  for 
a  year,  where  he  remembers  seeing  a  foreign  missionary.  Here  he  became 
involved  in  the  political  excitements  of  the  times,  and  on  his  returning  home 
he  ventilated  his  views  on  politics.  One  night  he  dreamed  that  the  police  came 
and  seized  him.  The  next  morning,  to  his  great  astonishment,  the  dream  was 
fulfilled.  Two  policemen  marching  in  took  him  to  prison,  from  which  he  was 
only  released  after  forty  days'  imprisonment.  His  dream,  and  what  followed  it, 
led  to  a  fuller  belief  in  an  invisible  God,  and  this  Mr.  Ishii  regards  as  the  second 
in  the  chain  of  causes  resulting  in  his  present  faith. 

Shortly  after  this  he  was  married.  In  1882  he  became  a  policeman  for  a 
while.  At  this  time,  on  consulting  a  physician,  Dr.  Ogiwara,  he  received,  aside 
from  his  medicines,  some  sound  advice  on  morals  and  religion.  He  was 
deeply  impressed  and  decided  to  study  medicine.  He  had  no  Bible  and  had 
heard  but  little  about  Christ,  but  he  had  learned  from  Dr.  Ogiwara  that  faith, 
hope,  and  love  were  the  three  fundamentals  of  Christianity.  Coming  to 
Okayama  in  August,  1882,  he  sought  a  Bible-seller,  who,  through  some  misap- 
prehension, took  him  to  be  one  of  a  company  of  mischievous  students  who  had 
lately  troubled  his  family.  So  young  Ishii,  being  repelled,  turned  to  the  Roman 
Catholics  and  was  treated  with  marked  kindness.  He  studied  with  them  for  one 
year  and  became  an  earnest  supporter  of  that  faith.  But  later,  on  observing  that 
the  Catholics  had  no  Bible  as  the  Protestants  had,  he  turned  to  the  latter,  pur- 
cahsing  a  New  Testament  and  calling  upon  Pastor  Kanamori.  On  November  2, 
1884,  he  publicly  entered  the  Protestant  communion,  being  rebaptized  at  his  own 
request,  and  against  the  advice  of  the  pastor.  At  this  time  he  met  Koume 
Sumiya,  whom  all  would  name  as  the  most  devoted  Christian  woman  in  Okayama. 
They  were  kindred  spirits.  He  named  her  the  mother  of  his  faith,  and  aimed 
from  that  time  at  a  spirit  and  consecration  like  hers.  To  this  date  he  goes 
to  her  for  counsel  and  sympathy  in  every  experience.  We  may  add  here  that  his 
wife  was  baptized  in  1886,  and  has  since,  quietly  but  conscientiously,  aided  her 
husband  in  all  his  philanthropic  schemes. 

In  July,  1884,  occurred  an  event  which  not  only  helped  him  forward  in  the 
divine  life,  but  gave  him  his  first  impulse  toward  humanitarian  activity.  At  his 
home  in  Takanabe,  he  read  of  the  gifts  to  Joseph  Neesima,  by  an  old  man  and 
an  old  woman  in  America,  of  two  dollars  each  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Christian  college  in  Japan.  That  these  poor  old  people  should  give  money  for 
use  in  a  distant  land  was  a  new  idea  to  him,  and  from  that  time  he  devoted  his 
life  to  the  welfare  of  others.  He  opened  at  once,  in  an  old  Shinto  shrine  on  the 
edge  of  the  town,  a  night-school  for  poor  children.  On  his  return  to  Okayama 
at  the  end  of  the  summer  the  school  was  continued  by  one  of  the  boys  he  had 
saved  out  of  beggary.  For  four  years  this  enterprise  was  kept  up,  Mr.  Ishii 
furnishing  the  funds  and  the  faith.  He  testifies  that  as  often  as  he  forgot  to  pray 
in  Okayama  for  the  Takanabe  school  a  letter  was  sure  to  come  from  his  assistant, 
saying,  "  The  school  is  running  down."  Then  more  earnest  prayer  in  Bizen  was 
followed  by  a  letter  from  Hiuga,  "All  goes  well  again."  This  not  once,  but 
many  times. 


Is// ii  anil  his  Orphanage, 


291 


The  following  August  (1885),  while  living  In  a  Japanese  house  belonging  to  the 
missionaries  at  ( )kayama,  he  read  a  translation  by  the  famous  scholar  Nakamura, 
of  Smiles's  Self-help.  He  was  profoundly  impressed  by  the  testimony  of 
Dr.  Guthrie,  "  the  Apostle  of  the  Ragged  School  movement,"  as  to  the  influence 

exerted  upon  his  lifework  by  the  example  of  John  Pounds,  the  humble  Ports- 
mouth cobbler,  who  "while  earning  his  daily  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow, 
had  rescued  from  misery  and  saved  to  society  not  less  than  live  hundred  of  these 
poor  children."  Like  Dr.  Guthrie,  Mr.  Ishii  could  say,  "I  felt  ashamed  of 
myself;  I  felt  reproved  for  the  little  I  had  done.     I  was  astonished  at  this  man's 


A   CASTLE    IN  JAPAN. 


achievements."  He  wrote  in  his  journal  at  the  time,  "  I  believe  myself  born  for 
that  purpose,  and  I  will  follow  Guthrie's  example  in  imitating  Pounds.'' 

In  order  to  aid  a  fellow-student,  aside  from  supporting  himself,  Ishii.  while  a 
student  in  the  medical  school,  went  out  at  night  as  a  massage  shampooer,  working 
at  this  exhausting  profession  until  nearly  or  quite  midnight,  then  arising  at  four 
to  study,  that  he  might  hold  his  high  place  among  the  first  three  of  his  class. 

In  December,  1886,  George  Muller  came  to  Japan.  The  following  February, 
while  boarding  in  the  house  of  a  Christian,  Ishii  heard  a  letter  read  from 
the  son  of  the  household,  then  a  theological  student  at  the  Doshisha,  describing 
Mr.  Muller  and  his  visit  to  Kyoto,  and  dwelling  on  the  "  life  of  faith  "  of  that 
wonderful  man.  Again  deep  thoughts  were  stirred  in  his  mind.  Then  first  he 
understood  something  of  what  is  meant  by  those  words  in  common  use  in  Japan. 
"Living  heavenly  Father  and  his  love."     Then   first  he  committed  his  life   and 


292  Ishii  and  /lis  OrpJianage. 

all  to  God  and  his  service.  Heretofore  his  purpose  had  been  to  serve  God  in 
some  way  after  graduation.  Now  he  decided  to  begin  at  once  and  for  children. 
This  he  numbers  third  in  the  list  of  great  causes  that  led  him  to  his  lifework. 

Though  suffering  from  brain  trouble,  he  went  to  Kamiachi,  some  twelve  miles 
east  of  Okayama,  and  began  practising  medicine  to  support  himself.  The  house 
adjoining  the  one  where  he  roomed  was  a  miserable  hovel,  frequented  by  the 
very  poor.  One  day  in  June  a  beggar  woman  with  two  children  stopped  there 
and  remained  over  night.  Noticing  that  the  family  was  very  needy  Mr.  Ishii 
stepped  in  and  gave  a  bowl  of  his  own  rice  to  the  eight-year-old  boy.  The  lad 
immediately  passed  it  over  to  his  younger  sister,  who  was  a  cripple.  The  mother 
was  out  begging  for  a  breakfast.  Returning  later  she  called  on  Mr.  Ishii  and 
thanked  him  heartily  for  his  kind  act.  A  little  sympathy  and  persuasion  loosed 
the  woman's  tongue  and  she  told  a  pitiful  story.  Her  husband  had  died ;  she 
was  now  begging  her  way  back  to  Bingo,  her  old  province,  hoping  against  hope 
to  secure  work  there.  She  said,  "  I  could  support  myself  and  the  crippled  girl, 
but  I  can't  earn  enough  in  addition  for  the  boy."  Mr.  Ishii,  prompt  to  act  upon 
his  newly  formed  rule  of  life,  at  once  offered  to  adopt  the  boy.  The  mother- 
love  was  strong  and  the  woman  hesitated.  Mr.  Ishii  begged  her  to  give  him  up 
for  the  sake  of  all  of  them.  At  last  the  woman  consented  on  condition  that 
the  boy  might  be  returned  to  her  every  night.  This  arrangement  was  followed 
for  a  week,  Mr.  Ishii  caring  for  the  boy  through  the  day  only.  After  a  week's 
trial  the  mother  was  convinced  of  Mr.  Ishii 's  sincerity  of  purpose  and  committed 
the  boy  entirely  to  his  charge.  This  was  the  first  child  in  Mr.  Ishii's  adopted 
family.  The  boy  still  lives  and  is  frequently  shown  to  audiences  as  "  the  original 
orphan."  With  such  pains  was  the  work  begun  which  speedily  grew  into  an 
organized  asylum  for  needy  children. 

In  July,  1887,  occurred  what  Mr.  Ishii  reckons  as  the  fourth  and  final  cause 
for  the  opening  of  the  Orphanage.  He  learned  of  a  poor  fisherman  and  his 
wife  who,  though  but  slightly  removed  from  starvation  themselves,  adopted  a 
little  girl  of  three  and  a  boy  of  five,  left  by  parents  and  two  older  brothers,  all 
dead  from  cholera.  The  heartless  neighbors  were  about  to  bury  the  younger 
child  in  the  coffin  with  its  mother,  it  being  nearly  dead  from  starvation  and  no 
one  to  care  for  it.  Two  thoughts  came  home  to  the  young  physician  with  great 
force  :  first,  the  pitiable  condition  of  orphans  ;  and  next,  that  if  those  who  know 
nothing  of  the  great  love  of  Christ  can  show  such  kindness  as  those  poor  fishers, 
what  ought  not  we  Christians  to  do?     Dare  we  do  less  than  they? 

He  returned  to  Okayama,  conferred  with  his  trusty  advisers,  and  in  September, 
1887,  rented  a  part  of  a  large  temple  of  the  Zen  sect  (Buddhist),  moved  in  with 
his  family,  and  quietly  opened  his  Asylum  for  needy  children.  He  began  with 
the  boy  whose  story  I  have  told  above  and  two  other  lads  whom  had  he  picked 
up.  He  had  no  resources  but  his  own  abounding  faith  and  devoted  spirit. 
Since  that  day  of  momentous  decision,  the  institution  has  grown  steadily  in 
numbers,  influence,  and  good  works.  It  has  passed  through  many  trials,  but 
they  have  served  only  to  strengthen  its  founder's  faith  in  spiritual  verities.  It  has 
been  reduced  at  times  to  its  last  pot  of  gruel,  but  the  prayer  of  faith  has  brought 
relief  and  sometimes  just  at  the  moment  of  dire  need.  Mr.  Ishii  has  never 
refused  shelter  to  any  needy  applicant.     His  home  has  become  so  widely  known, 


Ishii  and  his  Orphanage. 


293 


especially  since  the  earthquake,  that  he  is  forced  to  inquire  carefully  into  the 
actual  needs  of  each  case,  so  as  not  to  be  imposed  upon  by  the  shiftless  and  the 
lazy.  Quietly  conferring  with  the  children  after  the  terrible  earthquake  in  No- 
vember last,  he  infused  his  own  self-forgetful  spirit  into  them.  They  were  as 
ready  as  he  to  give  for  those  needier   than    themselves.     Subscribing    thirteen 


dollars  out  of  their  own  poverty  they  started  out  to  solicit  aid  from  others.  The 
local  Salvation  Army  took  up  the  work  under  Mr.  Ishii's  lead,  and  has  raised 
from  Japanese  sources  over  $  1,100  in  money  and  1,700  articles  of  clothing. 
A  branch  asylum  was  opened  at  Nagoya,  and  seventy-seven  earthquake  orphans 
are  cared  for  there  and  at  the  main  home  in  Okayama. 

Feeling  that  his  Home  was  imperfect  sc  long  as  the  children  were  cared  for 


294  IsJiii  and  his  Orphanage. 

entirely  through  the  charity  of  others  and  not  taught  to  work  for  themselves,  he 
opened  an  Industrial  Department  in  September,  1890.  The  trades  now  taught 
are  printing,  farming,  barbering,  straw  weaving,  silk  embroidery,  the  manufacture 
of  matting,  besides  cooking,  washing,  and  sewing.  He  plans  soon  to  open  match 
and  soap  manufactories  and  a  training  school  for  carpenters.  The  children  work 
through  the  day  and  study  in  the  evening.  There  is  also  a  kindergarten  for  the 
very  youngest,  and  an  English  class  for  seven  of  the  most  promising  students. 

Of  many  gifts  to  the  Asylum  from  all  parts  of  the  world  the  past  year  has  seen 
two  of  special  magnitude,  one  from  a  Japanese,  and  one  from  abroad.  A  humble, 
devoted  evangelist  in  Banshu  has  given  his  whole  property,  valued  at  some 
$1,800  to  Mr.  Ishii's  work,  and  that  estate  is  now  used  as  the  farm  branch  of 
the  Asylum.  One  striking  fact  is  that  it  has  never  been  necessary  during  the 
four  and  a  half  years  of  this  work  to  buy  a  single  article  of  wearing  apparel, 
save  when  the  "  earthquake  branch  "  was  first  opened  at  Nagoya.  Enough  has 
always  been  contributed  for  the  needs  of  the  children  by  students  of  the 
Doshisha  and  other  schools,  or  by  churches  and  communities. 

Two  hundred  and  eighty-five  boys  and  girls  have  been  connected  with  the 
Home.  Of  these,  twenty-five  have  died,  seven  run  away,  twenty  been  returned 
to  their  friends,  and  233  may  now  be  found  in  the  three  Homes.  The  children 
practically  govern  themselves,  they  being  divided  for  this  purpose  and  for  their 
trades,  like  the  old  Israelites,  into  companies  of  tens,  of  fifties,  and  of  hundreds. 
All  elections  are  by  ballot,  weekly  meetings  are  held  about  Asylum  interests,  the 
graver  cases  alone  being  referred  to  Mr.  Ishii.  The  children  print  sermonettes 
and  distribute  them  through  the  city,  and  are  preparing  to  publish  a  small  paper. 
They  take  great  interest  in  their  industries,  are  loyal  to  the  Asylum,  almost 
worship  "  Father  Ishii,"  and  soon  catch  his  spirit  of  simple  trust  and  practical 
piety. 

The  Asylum  is  preeminently  a  place  of  prayer.  Founded  in  prayer,  it  is  con- 
tinued in  the  same  spirit.  The  morning  hour  from  six  to  seven  is  called  the 
prayer  hour.  The  children  go  singly  to  a  shaded  graveyard  in  the  rear  of  the 
temple  for  private  devotions.  Also  at  nine  o'clock  on  Friday  evening  a  short 
meeting  for  those  who  desire  it  is  held  at  the  same  sacred  spot.  This  is  the 
Bethel  of  the  Asylum,  and  has  witnessed  several  remarkable  answers  to  the 
prayer  of  faith.  After  breakfast  comes  a  half-hour  of  devotions  in  the  temple, 
and  again  in  the  evening.  On  Sabbath  afternoon  the  children  march  in  military 
order,  headed  by  their  own  buglers,  to  church,  a  mile  and  a  half  away.  It  is  a 
stirring  sight  and  has  led  more  than  one  sightseer  to  send  gifts  to  the  Asylum 
and  to  inquire  into  the  claims  of  the  Christian  religion. 

To  sum  up  the  man  and  his  work  in  a  sentence  :  Ishii  and  his  institution  are 
a  practical  realization  of  his  own  favorite  New  Testament  verse,  "  A  new  com- 
mandment I  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another."  A  love  that  works  itself 
out  in  deeds ;  a  life  that  is  truly  Christian ;  the  spirit  of  the  Bible  worked  into 
flesh  and  blood ;  simple  loyalty  worthy  of  a  Christian  Samurai ;  faith  that  feels, 
hope  that,  though  always  grave,  is  never  despondent ;  love  that  counts  no  cost,  if 
it  may  but  save  a  few  of  "  the  least  of  these  my  brethren." 


TWO  JAPANESE  STORIES. 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS   FROM   JAPANESE    DRAWINGS. 


[Here  are  the  translations,  made  by  Rev.  Otis  Cary,  of  Okayama,  of  two  stories  used  by  a  Japanese  teacher  of 
morality  to  illustrate  points  in  his  sermons.  We  think  that  our  readers  can  draw  from  them  morals  not  wholly 
inapplicable  to  some  persons  in  Christian  lands.] 

THE    JAR    OF    CANDY. 

There  was  once  a  grand  wedding  to  which  were  invited  all  the  aged  people, 
the  officials,  and  the  other  prominent  men  of  the  neighborhood.  Among  the 
guests  was  one  old  gentleman  who  was  so  much  of  a  teetotaler  that,  through  fear 
of  intoxication,  he  would  not  drink  as  much  beer  as  would  be  equal  to  the  dew 
on  a  single  blade  of  grass.     As  the  rest  of  the  company  were  all  enjoying  their 


THE    HAND    IN    THE   JAR. 
295 


296 


Two  Japanese  Stories. 


cups  the  master  of  the  house  felt  sorry  for  the  old  man  who  was  unable  to  join 
them.  "  As  you  do  not  drink  beer,"  he  said,  "  it  must  be  very  dull  sitting  here. 
Can't  I  get  something  else  for  you?  Perhaps  you  would  eat  some  candy."  So 
saying  he  brought  a  beautifully  decorated  jar  nearly  full  of  sugarplums.  All  the 
other  guests  rejoiced  to  see  the  thoughtfulness  of  their  host,  with  whom  they 
joined  in  urging  the  old  man  to  take  some  of  the  candy.  He  was  by  no  means 
loath  to  accept  the  invitation.  Taking  the  jar  on  his  knees  he  put  in  his  hand 
for  some  candy.  Though  the  mouth  of  the  jar  seemed  a  little  small  he  forced  in 
his  hand  without  much  difficulty.  When,  however,  he  tried  to  pull  it  out  again 
it  stuck  fast.     He  pulled  and  twisted,  but  all  in  vain. 


SHIBA    ONKO'S    PRESENCE   OF   MIND. 


The  person  who  sat  next  the  old  man,  seeing  that  something  was  out  of  the 
way,  inquired,  "  What  is  the  matter?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing,  nothing  of  any  consequence  !  only  my  hand  has  somehow  got 
caught  in  this  jar  and  won't  come  out." 

"  That  is  too  bad,"  said  the  other;  "  just  let  me  take  hold  of  the  jar  and  then 
if  you  pull  hard  you  will  get  free." 

So  while  the  old  man  tried  to  pull  out  his  hand  the  other  tugged  away  in  the 
opposite  direction.  The  rest  of  the  company  were  convulsed  with  laughter  as 
they  saw  the  exertions  of  the  two  men,  whom  they  jokingly  compared  to  two 
struggling  warriors. 

To  the  old  man  it  was  no  laughing  matter.  "  It  hurts  awfully  and  does  n't 
start  at  all,"  he  said. 


Two  J  a  pa  lit  'St  •  Storit  \r. 


'■97 


The  company  now  stopped  making  fun,  for  the  affair  was  getting  serious. 
Some  proposed  sending  for  a  doctor  or  for  Mr.  \amba,  the  noted  bonesetter ; 
but  finally  one  of  the  guests  said  :  "  Don't  make  so  great  an  ado  over  the  matter. 
I  remember  the  famous  story  of  Shiba  Onko,  who,  when  a  child,  was  one  day 
playing  with  several  of  his  companions  near  a  big  jar  filled  with  water.  One  of 
the  boys  who  climbed  upon  this  slipped  and  tell  in.  The  other  children,  with  the 
exception  of  Shiba  Onko,  ran  off  in  fright  ;  but  he  picked  up  a  large  stone  and 
threw  against  the  jar,  which  broke  and  let  out  both  the  water  and  the  bov.  I 
will  take  the  part  of  Shiba  Onko,  and  though  it  is  a  great  pity  to  destroy  it,  the 
beautiful  jar  is  not  so  valuable  as  our  friend's  hand." 

In  accordance  with  this  suggestion,  the  old  man  stretched  out  the  arm  which 
had  the  jar  on  it.  The  other  gave  one  blow.  The  candy  went  scattering  like 
snow  over  the  mats,  and  the  old  man  was  set  free.  And  now  when  they  came  to 
look  at  his  hand  the  reason  why  he  could  not  get  it  out  was  evident.  The 
greedy  fellow  had  grasped  a  big  handful  of  candy  to  which  he  had  held  fast  all 
the  time.  Had  he  only  been  willing  to  let  go  of  the  sugarplums  he  could  have 
drawn  out  his  hand  and  the  beautiful  jar  need  not  have  been  broken. 

THE   EARS   AND  TONGUES   THAT   WENT  TO    PARADISE. 

A  certain  man  died  and  went  to  paradise.  Kwanon,  the  goddess  of  mercy, 
met  him  at  the  gate  and  brought  him  at  once  to  Amida,  who  said  :  "  Since  you 


THE   GOOD   EARS   AND   TONGUES. 


298  Two  Japanese  Stories. 

are  henceforth  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  paradise  you  ought  at  once  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  general  features  of  the  place.  You  may  as  well  go  right  out 
this  morning  to  look  about  a  little.     Kwanon  will  act  as  your  guide." 

Kwanon,  in  obedience  to  this  direction,  led  the  man  out  to  see  the  sights  of 
paradise.  Heaps  of  gold  and  precious  stones  dazzled  the  eyes,  the  ears  were 
ravished  with  the  songs  of  angels,  magnificent  lotus-flowers  bloomed  in  the  eight 
wonderful  lakes,  while  the  immortal  birds  of  paradise  filled  the  air  with  notes 
sweeter  than  those  of  the  nightingale.  While  wandering  about,  they  came  to  a 
building  that  looked  something  like  a  pawnbroker's  shop.  On  the  sides  of  the 
room  were  shelves  heaped  up  with  what  appeared  to  be  mushrooms  and  dried 
fish-roes.  "  This,"  thought  the  man,  "  must  be  the  place  where  the  great  feasts 
are  prepared."  So  turning  to  Kwanon  he  asked,  "  Are  these  mushrooms  brought 
here  for  the  food  of  the  saints  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  !  those  are  not  mushrooms,"  she  said. 

"What,  then,  are  they?" 

"  Those  are  the  ears  of  persons  who  while  on  earth  always  listened  with 
approval  to  moral  discourses.  They  took  great  delight  in  hearing  sermons  and 
doctrinal  expositions ;  yet  when  it  came  to  action  their  deeds  were  so  evil  that 
at  death  their  bodies  sank  to  the  lowest  abysses  of  hell,  and  only  their  ears  were 
admitted  to  paradise." 

The  man  next  said,  "  It  seems  rather  strange  to  have  those  dried  fish-roes 
here  in  paradise.     How  does  it  happen?  " 

Kwanon  said  reprovingly,  "  You  foolish  fellow  !  Do  you  suppose  that  any 
animal  food  would  be  allowed  here?  Those  are  not  fish-roes.  Some  people 
during  their  earthly  life  are  very  skilful  in  telling  others  what  to  do  and  in 
expounding  truth  to  the  edification  of  their  hearers,  while  they  themselves  do 
only  what  is  for  their  own  pleasure  and  profit.  When  such  persons  die  they  are 
lost,  all  except  their  tongues  which  come  to  paradise." 


The  above  stories  are  good  illustrations  of  what  has  often  been  told  concern- 
ing the  Japanese,  that  they  are  specially  fond  of  allegories.  They  are  ingenious 
in  inventing  such  stories,  and  they  have  many  books  which  are  filled  with  them. 
One  of  the  most  famous  of  these  books  is  the  Mu-so-bi.  Of  this  book  Mrs. 
Carrothers  writes  in  her  volume,  "The  Sunrise  Kingdom":  "Mu-so-bi  is  the 
name  of  a  man  who  traveled  through  the  air,  visiting  many  different  kingdoms, 
as  they  are  called  —  such  as  Childhood,  Avarice,  Lying,  and  others.  He  tells 
what  he  saw  in  them  all.  In  the  kingdom  of  Childhood  he  found  funny  little 
people  who  could  neither  walk  nor  talk,  and  had  no  teeth  and  no  hair.  In  the 
kingdom  of  Lying  he  came  across  a  notice  upon  a  schoolroom  door  stating  that 
the  teacher  would  begin  a  class  there  on  a  certain  day.  He  went  at  the  ap- 
pointed time,  but  no  teacher  was  there.  This  was  repeated  several  times,  until 
he  went  after  the  teacher  and  asked  him  the  reason  of  such  strange  conduct. 
He  replied  that  to  teach  lying  was  his  special  object,  but  this  he  did  by  action 
rather  than  by  word." 


/A1GR0NES1A. 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "MORNING  STAR,"  1890-91. 

BY    CAPTAIN    GEORGE    K.    GARLAND,    COMMANDER. 


To  the  Stockholders  of  the  Morning  Star  :  — 

Dear  Friends,  young  and  old,  —  Shipowners  are  always  glad  to  hear  from 
their  vessels  while  away  on  voyages,  and  I  suppose  the  many  owners  of  the 
Morning  Star  are  no  exception.  I  will  try,  therefore,  to  make  a  little  report 
of  her  doings  for  the  past  year  for  their  benefit ;  but  first  we  will  prepare  for  a 
voyage. 

When  the  ship  is  ready  we  take  in  coal  enough  for  a  voyage  of  ten  months, 
or  about  i  70  tons.     Then  comes  a  year's  supplies  for  the  missionaries,  and  on 


NATIVE    HOUSE    ON     PONAPE. 


deck  there  is  generally  a  load  of  lumber,  with  perhaps  a  cow  or  two.  Some- 
times a  generous  friend  in  Honolulu  will  give  us  a  few  tons  of  ice  to  start  off 
with,  and  so  we  sail  in  June  or  July  of  each  year  for  Micronesia.  We  find  the 
Star  is  none  too  large  for  her  work,  and  sometimes,  with  sixty  or  seventy  people 
on  board,  we  wish  she  was  still  larger.  We  hope  the  owners  will  see  fit  to  make 
some  much-needed  alterations  this  year  to  accommodate  passengers. 

The  last,  or  voyage  No.  8,  of  the  Star  was  the  longest  and  most    eventful 


301 


3°2 


The  Voyage  of  the  "Morning  Star,"  1890-91. 


she  has  made.  Going  first  to  the  Gilbert  Islands  to  land  Mr.  Wakup,  we 
went  on  to  Kusaie  and  Ponape.  We  were  sorry  to  find  Ponape  in  a  state  of 
war  and  all  mission  work  stopped,  the  schools  closed  and  the  mission  grounds 
a  battlefield.  The  Star  was  not  allowed  to  go  to  her  old  anchorage  near  the 
mission  station,  but  was  obliged  to  lie  at  the  Spanish  Colony,  part  of  the  time 
between  the  Spanish  men-of-war,  with  their  great  guns  pointing  at  her.  A  few 
weeks  later  these  guns  were  turned  upon  the  natives  and  fired  about  800  times. 
The  island  is  so  thickly  covered  with  trees  and  vines  that  no  natives  and  very 
few  houses  could  be  seen  from  the  war-vessels,  consequently  very  little  damage 


CALLING    TO    CHURCH,    ON    RUK. 


was  done  by  the  shells.  The  soldiers,  who  seemed  to  want  something  to  show 
for  their  week's  work,  then  landed  and  burned  all  of  our  mission  houses  and 
a  few  native  houses.  A  very  good  view  of  a  Ponape  house  is  given  in  the  cut  on 
the  preceding  page. 

The  Morning  Star's  work  while  lying  at  Ponape  was  to  receive  on  board  the 
missionaries  and  scholars  from  the  training  schools  when  they  were  no  longer 
safe  on  shore.  To  the  west  of  Ponape  the  Star  now  has  little  to  do,  except  to 
land  supplies  at  Ruk.  The  schooner  Robert  W.  Logan  now  visits  the  Mortlocks 
in  her  stead,  and  has  already  made  several  voyages  to  that  group,  and  can  give 
the  missionary  in  charge  of  the  work  all  the  time  he  desires  at  each  island  j 
this,  of  course,  gives  the  Star  more  time  for  the  other  groups.  We  have  a  very 
good  picture  here  of  a  native  Christian  ;  he  is  blowing  a  large  shell  to  call 
people  to  church.  The  Morning  Star  is  seen  at  anchor  in  the  distance.  This 
long  stone  wharf  seen  in  the  picture  was  built  by  the  natives  under  the  direction 
of  Moses,  who   is  their   Christian  teacher,  and   it    is  one  of  the  signs  of  the 


The  Voyage  of  the  u Morning  Star"  1X90-91.  303 

improvement  which  has  been  going  on  since  the  missionary  work  was  begun  in 
the  Ruk  archipelago. 

And  now  we  will  sail  back  to  the  Gilbert  Islands,  stopping  at  Kusaie  long 
enough  to  fill  our  water-tanks  and  take  the  Gilbert  Islands  K'r's  on  board.  They 
are  in  charge  of  one  of  their  teachers,  and  arc  now  going  home  for  the  first  time 
in  four  years ;  there  are  thirteen  of  them,  as  full  of  life  and  fun  as  any  girls 
in  America.  A  trip  on  the  Star  is  a  great  change  for  them  ;  it  is  their  vacation, 
and  they  seem  to  enjoy  it.  Without  the  Star  the  boys  and  girls  in  Micronesia 
could  not  be  gathered  into  the  training  schools  as  they  now  are,  because  they 
live  on  islands  long  distances  apart,  and  from  300  to  700  miles  from  the  schools. 
The  picture,  "  A  Scene  in  Butaritari,"  on  the  next  page,  gives  a  good  idea  of 
a  Gilbert  Islands  house.  I  wonder  how  some  of  the  Morning  Star  owners 
would  like  living  in  such  a  house,  with  no  sides  and  no  furniture  except  a  mat 
spread  on  the  ground.  People  sitting  at  the  end  of  a  village  can  look  right 
through  all  the  houses  and  see  what  is  going  on  at  the  other  end.  When  the 
boys  and  girls  from  the  schools  become  teachers  and  go  back  to  their  low  islands, 
we  find  them  building  better  houses,  putting  sides  to  them,  and  even  dividing 
them  into  rooms.  Such  houses  serve  to  make  better  people,  and  are  a  help  to 
them  in  breaking  away  from  heathen  customs.  You  will  notice  in  this  picture  of 
the  Butaritari  village  some  marks  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  house.  These 
are  graves,  for  the  islanders  bury  their  dead  close  to  their  homes,  making  only  a 
little  mound  over  them.  It  seems  strange  that  they  should  be  willing  to  have 
the  graves  so  near  their  dwellings,  but  such  is  their  notion. 

In  the  Gilbert  Islands  this  year  the  Morning  Star  received  pretty  rough  usage 
from  winds  and  waves,  and  for  the  first  time  since  she  was  launched  had  to  seek 
a  refuge.  During  one  heavy  gale  she  lay  for  five  days  with  both  anchors  down 
and  dragged  them  nearly  half  a  mile.  They  were  anxious  days  for  those  on 
board,  for  if  she  struck  one  of  the  many  coral  patches  in  the  lagoon  she  would 
have  gone  to  the  bottom  in  a  hurry.  We  were  thankful  when  the  gale  was  over 
and  we  could  go  about  our  work.  Although  we  were  in  several  tight  places,  yet 
we  were  kept  from  all  serious  accident,  and  the  Star  proved  herself,  as  she  has 
always  done,  a  good  sea  boat. 

After  spending  three  months  in  this  group  we  went  to  Kusaie  again,  to  land 
the  Gilbert  Islands  scholars ;  then  taking  on  board  the  Marshall  Islands  boys 
and  girls,  we  took  them  for  a  visit  to  their  homes.  But  this  is  not  all  the  Star 
has  to  do.  The  missionary  in  charge  of  the  work  has  to  visit  all  the  islands ; 
the  Star  takes  him  there  and  lies  at  anchor  while  he  is  on  shore,  which  is  from 
one  day  to  a  week.  Then  again  the  Star  often  has  shipwrecked  men  on  board, 
either  taking  them  home  or  to  some  place  from  which  they  can  get  home.  This, 
though  not  strictly  missionary  work,  tends  to  give  the  vessel  a  good  name  and 
helps  create  good  feeling  between  the  natives  and  missionaries.  I  have  known 
shipwrecked  natives  to  wait  months  for  the  Star  to  take  them  home  when  they 
could  have  gone  earlier  by  other  vessels. 

We  spent  about  eight  weeks  in  the  Marshall  group,  and  after  being  tossed 
and  rolled  about  so  much  we  were  glad  to  get  to  our  quiet  anchorage  again  at 
Kusaie. 


3°4 


The  Voyage  of  the  "Morning  Star,"  1890—91. 


But  what  has  happened?  we  asked  one  another  as  we  approached  the  island. 
We  left  it  green  and  fair ;  now  it  is  brown  and  bare.  Some  men  soon  come  off 
in  a  canoe  and  tell  us  of  the  hurricane  which  hrd  swept  the  island.  How  we 
rejoiced  to  hear  that  no  lives  were  lost !  Though  house  after  house  was  blown 
down,  and  thousands  of  trees  were  uprooted  or  broken  off,  yet  no  one  was 
seriously  hurt.  The  frame-houses  belonging  to  the  mission  were  about  the 
only  ones  left  standing,  and  some  of  them  were  badly  twisted  and  shaken  up. 
Only  three  houses  were  left  in  the  principal  native  village  ;  these  were  saved  by 
the  people  getting  inside  and  bracing  them  up.  Most  of  the  food-trees  were 
either  destroyed  or  so  injured  that  they  will  not  bear  for  many  months.     Bread- 


Z  (/S/ZvC.CagQSTS*/ 


A    SCENE    IN     A     BUTARITARI     VILLAGE,    GILBERT     ISLANDS, 


fruit-trees,  which  are  large  and  do  not  take  deep  root,  suffered  most.  The  people 
were  already  getting  hungry  before  the  Star  sailed  for  home ;  I  hope  vessels 
with  provisions  to  sell  will  stop  there  and  so  relieve  them. 

But  we  must  get  back  to  our  home  port  again,  and  so  taking  the  missionaries 
who  are  to  return,  and  the  home  mail,  we  make  our  start,  stopping  to  say  good- 
by  to  Ponape,  then  on  to  Ruk  for  the  mails,  then  to  Honolulu.  At  the  end 
of  our  voyage  we  find  we  have  been  away  eleven  months  and  have  sailed  per- 
haps 18,000  miles,  steamed  over  forty  days,  and  anchored  fifty-one  times.  We 
reached  Honolulu,  June  19,  and  your  vessel  afterward  came  up  to  San  Francisco 
for  needed  repairs. 

It  is  now  "  eight  bells  "  and  my  watch  below,  so  I  must  close.  Hoping 
you  can  form  a  little  idea  of  what  the  Morning  Star  is  doing  in  Micronesia, 

Yours  in  service, 

George  F.  Garland, 

Captain. 


THE   STORY   OF    BUTARITARI    IN    1892, 


BY    REV.    A.    C.    WA]  KUP. 


Butaritari  and  the  small  island  of  Makin  are  separated  by  an  ocean  channel 
of  four  miles  ;  they  are  the  most  fertile  of  the  coral  islands  of  the  Gilbert  group. 
This  group  in  Western  Micronesia  extends  across  the  equator  from  three  degrees 
north  latitude  to  two 
degrees  south  latitude, 
or  a  distance  of  300 
miles,  and  from  175 
degrees  to  1 73  degrees 
east  longitude.  The  dis- 
tance from  San  Francisco 
is  about  5,000  miles. 

The  king  of  Butaritari, 
Nan  Temate,  whose 
likeness  is  given  here, 
recently  came  to  the 
United  States  in  the 
interests  of  his  people. 
It  took  no  little  bravery 
for  him  to  leave  home 
and  family,  his  cocoanut 
groves  and  tropical  cli- 
mate, and  come  to  a 
cold  climate,  enduring  a 
long  voyage  of  from  forty 
to  fifty  days,  living  upon 
sailors'  food  in  a  small 
schooner.  He  came 
among  a  people  with 
whom  he  could  converse 
only  through  an  inter- 
preter who  knew  a  few 
words  of  broken  English. 
His  object  was  to  seek 
friendship  and  protection  from  a  nation  that  had  sent  him  and  his  people  the 
Word  of  life.  His  islands  are  merely  strips  of  broken  coral  and  sand  thirty 
miles  in  length,  a  few  feet  above  high  tides ;  but  he  offers  the  United  States  a 
coaling  station  in  the  mid- Pacific. 


NAN    TEMATE,   KING    OF     BUTARI 


306  The  Story  of  Butaritari. 

Butaritari  and  Makin  lie  seventy-five  miles  from  the  rest  of  the  group.  They 
had  been  under  the  government,  if  it  deserves  the  name  of  government,  of  one 
dynasty  or  family  for  many  years  before  the  arrival  of  a  missionary.  Sometimes 
the  rulers  governed  with  such  severity  that  victims  fell  at  the  point  of  the 
warrior's  spear  without  a  moment's  warning.  At  other  times  anarchy  would  pre- 
vail, every  man  doing  what  was  right  in  his  own  eyes.  A  whole  family  would 
often  be  summoned  at  midnight  to  avenge  an  offence,  either  by  assassination  or  by 
cutting  down  the  offender's  cocoanut  trees,  making  him  and  his  family  beggars 
or  compelling  them  to  live  on  fish  only.  The  common  people  mingled  freely 
with  the  royal  family,  and  especially  so  in  lewd  games  and  heathen  practices. 
These  games  extend  into  the  night,  as  long  as  the  moonlight  lasts,  so  that  at  the 
time  of  the  full  moon  they  continue  until  morning.  The  small  children  also  have 
games,  playing  in  the  dark  or  around  a  bonfire  until  they  drop  down  to  rest  and 
go  to  sleep  in  a  neighbor's  hut  or  on  the  sand-beach. 

Most  of  the  fishing  is  done  at  night,  and  when  the  party  returns  with  a  catch  a 
supper  is  served,  and  the  sleepers  wake  up  to  eat,  even  though  it  be  in  the  small 
hours  of  the  night.  Rev.  Hiram  Bingham,  the  pioneer  in  this  group,  could  tell 
you  much  of  the  degradation  of  this  people  as  it  was  when  he  sent  them  their 
first  Hawaiian  missionary  in  1865.  His  fellow-laborer,  Rev.  J.  W.  Kanoa,  had 
already  seen  ten  years  of  pioneer  work  in  the  midst  of  the  dark  heathenism  on 
Kusaie,  and  afterward  0:1  Apaiang  and  Tarawa.  He  was  a  hard  worker,  and 
many  a  long  walk  or  hard  pull  he  had  in  going  from  village  to  village,  sowing 
the  good  seed.  .  Much  of  this  seed  sprang  up  only  to  be  choked  by  the  tares 
that  the  emissaries  of  the  evil  one  were  continually  scattering.  I  have  heard  a 
converted  sailor  tell  of  an  experience  at  Butaritari,  when  he  as  second  mate  of 
a  whaleship  was  sent  ashore,  while  the  people  were  drinking  their  native  liquor, 
to  exchange  a  demijohn  of  rum  for  a  barrel  of  cocoanut  oil.  The  man  took 
good  care  not  to  get  into  the  hands  of  the  savage  people  or  let  his  boat  get 
aground,  and  to  see  that  the  oil  was  in  the  boat  before  he  left  the  devil's  torch. 

In  1880  I  had  my  first  sight  of  heathenism  on  this  island  of  Butaritari.  The 
then  reigning  king,  a  relative  of  this  Nan  Temate,  and  the  royal  family  were 
lying  drunk  under  an  old  hut,  and  as  unconcerned  seemingly  about  the  visit  of 
the  new  white  missionaries  as  a  herd  of  fat  lazy  swine  would  be  at  the  approach 
of  a  dealer.  Rev.  H.  J.  Taylor  and  myself  asked  about  buying  land  and 
building  our  foreign  houses  for  our  families,  and  about  training  schools  to  be 
gathered  from  the  different  islands  of  the  group ;  but  no  notice  was  taken  of 
our  request,  and  we  went  on  to  Apaiang.  Most  of  the  people  were  reported 
to  be  drinking  and  dancing  and  indulging  in  lewd  plays.  The  priests  and 
priestesses  were  performing  many  ceremonies  and  incantations  over  children, 
not  only  at  their  births,  but  at  their  betrothals  and  marriages.  Many  sacrifices 
were  being  offered  to  deities  represented  by  stones  set  up  as  idols.  A  few 
"beach-combers  "  lived  on  the  island,  as  traders,  in  old  native  huts,  and  their 
stock  consisted  of  rum,  guns,  tobacco,  and  other  instruments  of  vice.  Mr. 
Kanoa  had  not  lost  courage,  although  at  that  time  his  followers  were  reduced  to 
a  smaller  band  than  Gideon's.  Scarcely  a  score  were  dressed  and  in  their  right 
minds. 

But  visit  the  island  with  us  now,  after  twelve  years  have  passed.     This  king, 


Tlu   Story  of  Butaritari. 


307 


Nan  Temate,  is  a  warm-hearted  Christian,  has  an  organized  police  force   and 

guard,  lias  gathered  in  and  destroyed  all  the  guns  except  rifles  for  the  guard, 
has  destroyed  all  the  maneabas  (the  name  given  to  the  large  dance  and  vice 
houses),  has  imposed  heavy  fines  for  theft,  gambling,  and  licentiousness;  the 
fermentation  of  "  toddy,"  the  sap  of  the  cocoanut  blossom,  which  is  regarded 
not  only  as  the  drink  and  food  of  children,  but  the  daily  nourishment  of  all, 
is  strictly  forbidden.  What  cannot  be  used  within  a  few  hours,  when  it  is  sweet, 
must  be  poured  out,  or  boiled  down  into  syrup  for  future  use.  No  work,  either 
fishing  or  traveling,  can  be  done  on  the  Sabbath.  The  king  has  now  a  foreign 
house  for  government  use,  also  two  frame  houses  for  his  family.  Although  a 
king,  and  portly,  weighing  from  250  to  280  pounds,  he  is  not  afraid  of  work. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rand  went  with  us  to  pay  him  a  visit.     He  had  just  returned  in 


A    MANEABA    OF    FORMER    TIMES. 

a  pajama  suit,  wet  and  soiled,  with  his  company  ot  natives,  some  girls  being 
among  the  number,  from  gathering  stones  from  the  reef  at  low  tide,  bringing 
the  stones  in  four  large  surfboats,  to  build  a  dock  to  land  upon  and  also  a  walk 
to  his  house.  Trading  by  foreigners  is  prohibited  unless  they  pay  a  tribute  of 
one  hundred  dollars  yearly,  and  the  selling  or  giving  guns  or  liquor  to  the 
natives  is  forbidden  entirely.  Four  firms,  two  of  them  American,  one  German, 
and  one  from  Sydney,  have  stores  and  warehouses  at  the  king's  village,  with 
branch  stores  at  other  villages  on  the  island,  to  sell,  if  tobacco  is  excepted, 
only  useful  articles.  Is  it  not  a  shame  that  these  few  foreigners  from  so-called 
civilized  countries  must  have  a  saloon,  signboard  and  all,  just  for  themselves  to 
drink  and  gamble  in?     Shall  not  the  first  be  last  and  the  last  first? 

You  will  now  find  the  people  well  dressed,  except  when  fishing  or  working  in 
the  water.  In  villages  where  we  have  been  able  to  furnish  them  teachers,  all 
the  children,  and  many  older  ones,  are  in  schools.     The  teachers  thought   the 


3o8 


The  Story  of  Butaritari. 


i, 800  books  left  them  would  not  supply  the  demand  of  the  market  for  books* 
On  the  Sabbath  all  are  not  only  expected  to  attend  worship  and  Sabbath-school, 
but  seemingly  enjoy  attending,  if  a  walk  of  three  or  four  miles  will  enable  them 
to  do  so.  There  are  eight  places  for  stated  preaching,  with  five  dedicated  houses 
of  worship,  four  of  which  were  enlarged  last  year ;  all  the  people,  including  men 
and  women,  working  as  they  could,  the  women  making  the  matting  to  cover  the 
large  buildings. 

They  have  a  bell  costing  $350,  purchased  to  take  the  place  of  one  costing 
$180,  a  few  years  ago,  and  cracked  by  vigorous  pounding.  An  outlying  church 
has  a  bell  weighing  128  pounds.  There  are  750  church  members,  112  of  whom 
were  received  on  confession  the  past  year,  and  200  restored.  The  contributions 
for  missionary  work  amounted  to  $111.75,  besides  a  contribution  of  $250, 
gathered  to  help  supply  the  American  evangelist  with  a  craft  much  needed  for 


GILBERT    ISLAND    WARRIORS    OF    FORMER    TIMES. 


touring  among  the  islands.  The  prince,  an  exceedingly  fine-looking,  portly 
young  man,  stands  with  the  choir  and  carries  the  bass  in  Coronation,  Beulah 
Land,  The  Precious  Name,  or  The  Sweet  By-and-by. 

The  directors  in  the  work  the  last  few  years  have  been  an  aged  Hawaiian 
couple,  Rev.  R.  Maka  and  wife,  and  they  have  been  asking  for  recruits  to  hold 
their  work  while  they  secure  a  rest  in  their  homeland  at  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
This  request  has  been  in  vain,  until  this  year.  Now  all  the  students  in  Dr.  Hyde's 
Institute  at  Honolulu,  as  also  the  wives  of  all,  have  volunteered  to  go  anywhere 
in  the  Gilbert  Islands.  The  Hawaiian  Board's  treasury  is  about  empty,  but 
nevertheless  two  families  are  to  be  sent.  Where  are  the  two  families  our 
American  Board  has  been  looking  for  in  vain,  from  our  seminaries  and  6,000 
student  volunteers,  who  can  be  sent  at  once  to  hold  the  islands  of  the  Marshall 
and  Caroline  groups  and  in  time  to  bring  about  a  similar  result  to  that  seen  at 
Butaritari  ? 


r^c»£^s; 


DINING   WITH    A   KING. 


The  tenth  voyage  of  the  Morning  Star  began  June  18,  1892,  when  the  vessel 
sailed  from  Honolulu  for  Micronesia.  It  ended  after  a  voyage  of  a  little  over 
nine  months,  the  Star  entering  Honolulu  harbor   again    on   March    27,   1893. 


THE   MORNING    STAR. 

During  the  voyage  she  first  touched  at  Butaritari,  the  northernmost  island  of  the 
Gilbert  group,  on  July  5,  thence  sailing  to  Kusaie,  and  so  on  by  Ponape  to  Ruk. 
On  returning  to  Kusaie,  she  sailed  for  a  tour  through  the  Marshall  Islands,  start- 
ing August  2.  After  this  visitation  was  completed  she  returned  to  Kusaie  and 
took  on  board  the  scholars  from  the  Gilbert  group  who  had  been  in  the  school 
established  for  them  on  Kusaie.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  since  missionaries 
from  America  find  it  impossible  to  live  on  the  low  coral  islands  of  the  Marshall 

309 


3 10  Dining  with  a  King. 

and  Gilbert  groups,  pupils  are  annually  collected  from  these  groups  and  taken  to 
the  Training  School  on  the  high  island  of  Kusaie.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Pease  and 
Miss  Little  have  charge  of  the  Marshall  Islands  department,  while  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Channon  and  Miss  Hoppin,  aided  by  Miss  Palmer,  have  the  care  of  the  Gilbert 
Islands  school.  Rev.  Mr.  Walkup  is  to  spend  his  time  with  his  little  craft,  the 
Hiram  Bingham,  in  touring  through  the  Gilbert  group. 

It  was  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  October,  1892,  that  the  Star  left  Kusaie,  with 
sixteen  Gilbert  Islands  girls  on  board,  for  a  tour  through  the  group.  Three  of 
these  girls  were  left  at  the  islands  and  six  new  girls  returned  to  commence  their 
studies.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Channon  and  Miss  Hoppin  went,  of  course,  to  care  for 
these  pupils  and  to  supervise  the  work  that  is  being  done  at  the  islands.  They 
found  many  things  to  encourage  them,  while  not  a  few  of  the  persons  whom 
they  had  trusted  had  gone  astray. 

The  wife  of  the  captain  of  the  Morning  Star,  Mrs.  Garland,  kept  a  journal 
of  the  voyage,  and  from  this  record  we  are  permitted  to  take  an  interesting 
account  of  the  king  of  Butaritari  and  of  a  reception  and  feast  he  made  for  the 
missionaries  and  the  girls  who  had  returned  from  Kusaie.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  this  king  visited  San  Francisco  some  two  years  ago,  hoping  to  induce 
the  United  States  to  assume  a  protectorate  over  his  islands.  While  at  San  Fran- 
cisco he  made  Mrs.  Garland's  acquaintance,  and  to  the  interviews  they  then  had 
she  refers  in  the  account  which  follows.  This  king,  when  he  was  in  the  United 
States,  went  by  the  name  of  Nan  Tamate,  but  Mrs.  Garland  calls  him  Tebureimoa. 
He  professes  to  be  a  Christian  man,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  notice  that  at  the  feast 
described  he  himself  asked  a  blessing  in  such  a  simple  and  earnest  way.  The 
account  that  Mrs.  Garland  gives  shows  that  he  is  not  a  very  majestic  king,  and 
yet  when  we  remember  what  his  ancestors  and  people  were,  how  degraded  and 
immoral,  this  account  seems  very  pleasant.  Here  is  the  extract  from  Mrs. 
Garland's  journal:  — 

"  The  king  has  numerous  houses,  some  built  in  foreign  style  ;  but  by  that  you 
must  not  imagine  anything  great,  as  they  are  more  like  the  simplest  and  most 
modest  seaside  camping  cottages  than  anything  else  ;  this  dwelling-house  is  sur- 
rounded by  an  opening  of  the  glaring  white  sand,  enclosed  by  a  whitewashed 
picket  fence. 

"  As  we  filed  by  in  a  long  straggling  column,  nearly  every  girl  armed  with  a 
bundle  of  washing,  a  bag,  or  some  ether  burden,  His  Majesty  Tebureimoa,  king 
of  Butaritari  and  Makin,  appeared  at  his  door  and  in  stentorian  tones  bade  us 
enter.  We  were  ushered  into  a  good-sized  room.  The  walls  were  neatly 
papered  and  the  floor  nicely  matted.  On  a  table  in  the  corner  were  a  few 
photographs,  and  on  the  walls  a  few  more  framed ;  one  taken  by  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson  while  he  was  here  —  a  blue  print  of  the  king  and  his  court  —  was  really 
quite  imposing,  the  king  being  arrayed  in  his  admiral's  uniform,  the  queen  in 
her  silk  dress. 

"  The  king,  as  we  entered,  seated  himself  on  a  wooden  stool,  beckoning  the 
captain  and  me  to  similar  seats  on  his  right  and  left,  giving  one  also  to  Miss 
Hoppin  as  she  came  in.  The  girls  rested  themselves  on  the  veranda,  in  spite  of 
the  king's  oft-repeated  call,  until  he  became  a  little  irritated  and  bade  them 
come  in  at  once. 


Dining  with  a  Kin± 


3" 


.  ,.-•-.-•--. 


/ 


\ 


"You  remember  the  ponderous  figure  of  the  king^     His  wife  is  well  raited  to 
him  in  figure,  and  looked  immense,  as  she  was  in  a  black  print  ho!okut  with  huge 
yellow  polka  dots.     The  king  was  dressed   in   a   light  outing  shirt  and    woolen 
trowsers.     Part  of  the  time  his  shoes  adorned  his  feet ;  part  of  the  time  they 
occupied  a  prominent  post  on  a  chest  in  the  veranda.     You  hardly  saw  his  pon- 
derosity to  good  advantage  in  San    Francisco  ;    lure,  unburdened    by  a    heavy 
coat  and  with  his  foot  on  his  native  sands,  —  his  influenza  a  thing  of  the  past,  — 
he  became  genial  in  the  extreme  and 
jovially    reminiscent.     I    was    intro- 
duced  as   the   friend   of   his   travels, 
and  called  upon  to  corroborate  many 
incidents.     As    Mr.    Channon    said 
afterward,   probably  his  people  had 
shown    too    much    incredulity    with 
regard  to  his    marvelous    tales,  and 
I    had    accomplished    a    mission    in 
vindicating  him  and  establishing  his 
character  for  veracity.     But  what  do 
you  suppose  impressed  him  most  in 
his  travels?     Not  the  immense  build- 
ings and  crowds  of  people,  nor  the 
splendor  of  Iolani  palace,  nor  all  the 
display  of  the  queen's  surroundings, 
but  the  breakdown  of   the  carriage 
on  that  Saturday  afternoon  when  we 
rode  together.     Over  and  over,  with 
most  graphic  tones  and  gestures,  he 
told  the  story  ;  he  would  insist  that 
the   horse   was    crazy,    and    that  we 
were   all  in  danger  of  being  eaten. 
His  heavy  face  really  grew  animated 
as  he  talked ;    Miss  Hoppin  said  he 
seemed  glad  to  have  found  a  chum 
to  talk  over  old  times  with. 

"  When  we  took  our  leave,  the  king 
made  us  promise  to  come  back  at 
twelve  o'clock  '  to  taste  a  little 
food '  ;  and  we  were  glad  to  accept 
on  account  of  the  girls.  The  girls 
were  soon  busy  with  their  washing. 

Miss  Hoppin  and  I,  sitting  on  a  mat,  took  turns  reading  to  one  another  till  it 
was  time  to  see  if  the  girls  had  all  donned  dry  dresses  and  combed  their  hair, 
in  readiness  to  start  for  the  king's  house.  A  long  time  we  spent  in  waiting  in 
his  sitting-room  ;  but  at  last,  after  much  running  hither  and  thither  of  the  men 
and  women  about  the  place,  the  king  led  us  across  the  yard  to  his  eatingdiouse, 
and  the  full  glory  of  the  banquet  burst  upon  our  vision.  A  long  table  was 
covered  with  a  cloth  of  unbleached  cotton,  and  plates  were  laid  for  ten,  each 


■ 


W. 


-"  *?i  i# 


MARSHALL  ISLANDER   (In  Native  Dreis). 


312 


Dining  with  a  King. 


provided  with  knife  and  fork  and  large  spoon,  and  a  generous  soup-plateful  of 
rich-looking  chicken  soup,  with  a  generous  quantity  of  the  chicken  in  it. 

"  The  centrepiece  on  the  table  was  a  mammoth  dishpan  full  of  baked  fish.  This 
was  flanked  by  platters  of  chicken  and  plates  of  babai  (the  coarse  taro  that 
grows  here).  At  each  plate  was  laid  an  unopened  young  cocoanut,  and  as  side 
dishes  were  placed  at  intervals  tins  of  sardines  and  corned  beef.  I  was  given 
the  armchair  at  the  end  of  the  table,  and  in  front  of  me  stood  a  whole  roast 
chicken  on  a  fancy  platter.  There  were  many  preliminaries  to  be  gone  through, 
and  the  king  seemed  dismayed  that  he  could  not  seat  all  his  guests  at  the  table ; 
but  I  assured  him  they  were  contented  to  sit  on  the  floor,  and  he  was  at  once 
relieved.  There  was  more  planning  to  make  the  plates  go  round,  but  at  last  we 
were  ready,  and  Tebureimoa  asked  a  blessing,  very  earnest  and  simple,  and  so 
a   surprise    to  me.     Our   dinner    was  delicious ;    the   king's   cook  had    been 

taught  by  a  white  man,  and 
the  soup  could  not  have  been 
more  nicely  flavored  or  the 
chicken  more  tender.  The 
babai  too  was  good,  and  we 
all  enjoyed  the  feast  to  the 
full.  Four  men  waited  on  the 
guests,  supplying  those  who 
sat  on  the  floor,  opening  the 
cocoanuts,  etc.  The  girls 
wanted  very  much  to  try  the 
foreign  delicacies,  but  waited 
to  see  how  they  should  help 
themselves.  At  last  the  king 
dipped  his  fork  into  a  tin  of 
beef,  took  up  a  generous  mor- 
sel and  put  it  in  his  mouth. 
At  once  the  girls  all  about 
began  to  follow  suit,  and 
quickly  demolished  the  tins, 
but  Miss  Hoppin  and  I  were 
well  content  with  the  fresh 
food,  and  were  glad  the  king 
did  not  urge  us  to  share  the  tins.  Tebureimoa  turned  to  me,  asking,  '  Did  you 
notice  my  cook's  apron?'  (a  piece  of  white  cloth  fastened  about  his  waist). 
When  I  told  that  I  had  just  been  looking  at  it,  he  said  with  a  very  knowing  look 
and  much  satisfaction, '  It  is  just  like  the  steward  on  a  ship  or  in  a  hotel,  is  n't  it  ? ' 
"  I  praised  the  cooking,  and  he  was  delighted.  Toward  the  end  of  the  meal, 
the  girls  became  embarrassed  with  their  sticky  fingers,  whereupon  the  king 
ostentatiously  using  the  edge  of  the  tablecloth  for  a  napkin,  bade  his  guests  do 
likewise,  and  so  ended  our  dinner.  No,  not  quite  !  The  inevitable  cup  of 
kamaimai  (boiled  extract  of  the  juice  of  the  cocoanut  bud)  and  water  followed, 
and  proved  almost  too  much  for  the  dinner  that  went  before  it ;  but  I  fixed  my 
thoughts  stedfastly  on  a  foreign  subject,  and  took  the  draught  in  great  gulps." 


BREAD-FRUIT  OF  MICRONESIA. 


THE  TWELFTH  VOYAGE  OF  THE  MORNING  STAR,  1X94-95. 

i;V    CAPTAIN    GEORGE    F.    GARLAND. 


•"  Ship  ahoy  !  " 
"  Halloo  !  " 
••  What  ship  is  that?" 
"  The  Morning  Star." 
"  Where  are  you  from  ?  " 
•'  Honolulu." 

"  Where  are  you  bound?" 
"To  Micronesia." 

Conversation  between  vessels  meeting  at  sea  generally  begins  about  in  this  way. 
The  Morning  Star  has  few  opportunities  to  be  social  in  this  manner,  because 


A   CORAL    ISLAND. 

there  are  so  few  ships  in  the  region  where  she  sails.  But  she  is  not  lonesome  by 
any  means.  Her  voyage  is  all  planned  before  she  sails  from  Honolulu,  and  she 
has  to  work  lively  to  get  around  on  time.  There  is  not  much  time  to  think  of 
other  vessels  or  to  get  lonesome.  Her  last  voyage  occupied  over  nine  months, 
during  which  she  probably  sailed  over  25,000  miles.  If  she  could  have  sailed 
on  straight  courses  from  island  to  island,  the  distance  would  be  only  12,000 
miles,  but  with  head  winds  she  has  to  beat,  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other, 
sailing  often  120  miles  in  twenty-four  hours,  only  to  make  from  thirty  to  fifty 
miles  towards  her  port.  At  times  she  does  not  make  even  so  much  as  that, 
because  of  strong  currents  running  through  the  ocean  in  different  directions. 


3 '4  The  Twelfth  Voyage  of  the  Morning  Star. 

Can  you  imagine  how  disappointing  it  is  to  the  captain  and  others  on  board, 
after  taking  observations  and  working  them  up,  to  find  the  ship  has  only  made 
ioo  miles  when  by  log  she  should  have  made  150?  This  often  happens  in 
the  waters  where  the  Star  sails.  "  Why  don't  the  captain  allow  for  the  current  in 
his  reckoning?  "  That  seems  simple  enough,  but  when  he  sails  along  and  finds  a 
current  setting  him  fifty  miles  a  day  east,  and  a  few  weeks  later  in  the  same  place 
finds  it  setting  fifty  miles  westward,  what  would  you  advise  him  to  do  about  it? 

Those  who  sail  about  much  on  the  Star  are  very  glad  that  the  American  Board 
was  enabled  to  put  even  a  little  steam  into  her.  It  helps  her  out  of  many  tight 
places,  and  enables  her  to  visit  lagoons  where  sailing  vessels  cannot  go.  Without 
steam  the  amount  of  work  now  done  on  each  voyage  would  take  over  a  year. 

What  takes  up  so  much  time  ?  Well,  last  year  she  visited  thirty  islands,  and 
some  of  them  three  or  four  times  each.  This  year  she  has  forty  islands  on  her 
visiting  list,  having  to  take  the  islands  usually  visited  by  the  schooner  Robert  W. 
Logan,  which  is  supposed  to  be  lost  at  sea.  Some  of  these  islands  are  only 
six  or  eight  miles  apart,  and  some  are  400  miles  apart.  The  whole  distance 
from  east  to  west  traversed  by  the  Star  in  Micronesia  after  she  has  sailed  the 
2,500  miles  from  Honolulu  to  the  Gilbert  group  is  1,500  miles,  and  it  has 
to  be  gone  over  three  times  each  voyage,  stopping  at  islands  on  the  way  from 
one  to  ten  days,  while  the  missionary  in  charge  goes  on  shore  to  visit  churches 
and  schools.  During  the  tours  among  the  islands  the  missionary  has  to  eat  and 
sleep  on  board  the  Star,  for  most  of  the  natives'  houses  are  very  poor,  affording 
no  protection  from  mosquitoes,  which  are  very  large  and  hungry.  Moreover,  the 
heat  on  these  coral  islands  is  much  greater  than  on  board  ship  at  anchor  away 
from  the  land. 

At  every  island  the  Star  has  goods  to  land  for  the  teachers,  and  this  also  takes 
up  her  time,  for  often  the  goods  have  to  be  boated  from  three  to  ten  miles,  and 
perhaps  the  boat  will  be  caught  on  the  coral  flats  by  the  outgoing  tide,  and 
generally  but  one  load  of  goods  can  be  landed  in  a  day.  There  are  no  wharves 
in  Micronesia  for  ships  to  go  to. 

I  wonder  how  many  young  people  know  or  can  imagine  what  a  coral  island  is 
like  ?  First,  it  is  very  low  —  perhaps  at  the  highest  point  ten  feet  above  water. 
In  books  they  are  generally  pictured  as  round,  or  nearly  so,  but  that  is  an  error, 
for  they  are  very  irregular  shaped  and  narrow,  so  narrow  that  one  can  walk 
across  them  in  from  five  to  ten  minutes.  Their  length  is  sometimes  very  great. 
I  know  of  one  island  which  is  nearly  100  miles  in  circumference,  with  its  outside 
reef  only  a  few  rods  wide.  The  area  of  water  inside  the  reef  is  called  a  lagoon, 
and  near  the  centre  of  the  lagoon  are  several  islands  where  from  12,000  to 
15,000  people  live.  But  coral  islands  generally  have  no  land  in  the  lagoons,  and 
the  people  live  on  the  narrow  strip  from  200  feet  to  half  a  mile  wide.  They 
are  very  poor  people  and  it  is  well  that  their  wants  are  few.  They  need  but 
little  clothing,  and  their  food  in  many  cases  is  only  cocoanuts  and  fish  ;  and  in 
dry  seasons  the  cocoanuts  nearly  fail.  One  a  day  is  often  all  they  can  have. 
Think  of  going  to  school  with  only  an  old  hard  cocoanut  for  lunch  !  And  yet  these 
island  children  keep  fat  on  it.  I  don't  know  how  they  do  it,  but  they  rival  all 
the  Mellin's  Food  and  Nestle's  Food  children  we  see  pictured  in  the  magazines. 

I  think  the  young  people  would   like  to  see  the  Star  when  she   is   leaving 


The  Twelfth  I  'fjv/.-r  of  the  Morning  Star. 


3 ' ; 


Kusaiefor  a  (Albert  or  Marshall  Islands'  trip.  Then-  will  be  forty  or  more  school 
boyS  and  girls  onboard  the  Hide  ship,  besides  the  missionary  and  lus  family  and 
the  ship's  crew,  say  sixty  or  more  in  all.     The  boys  take  with  then  a  supply  of 


bananas  and  sugar  cane;  perhaps  there  will  be  fifty  bunches  of  bananas  and 
from  one  to  two  tons  of  cane.  While  the  cane  lasts  the  boys  and  girls  are 
turned  into  sugar  mills,  and  forty  pairs  of  jaws  do  the  grinding.  The  trash  is 
of  course  thrown  overboard  and  leaves  a  good  mark  for  one  to  follow  the  ship  by. 
But  the  liveliest  time  we  have  is  during  rain  squalls,  when  all  hands  take  a 


316 


The  Twelfth  Voyage  of  the  Morning  Star. 


bath.  We  cannot  carry  enough  fresh  water  for  each  one  on  board  to  have  a  bath 
every  clay,  and  so  when  it  rains  hard  the  scuppers  are  stopped  up,  and  the  rain 
gathers  and  the  decks  are  turned  into  a  vast  bathtub.  The  boys  take  one  deck, 
and  the  girls  another.  It  is  hard  telling  which  make  the  most  noise,  but  I  think 
the  girls  do. 

We  have  had  many  good  illustrations  of  the  great  value  of  even  a  small  amount 
of  steam  power.  In  August  and  September,  when  we  were  in  the  Carolines, 
there  was  a  dead  calm  most  of  the  time  for  three  weeks.  We  met  a  trading 
schooner,  rolling  and  flopping  about,  unable  to  steer  at  all.  During  those  three 
weeks  we  had  to  steam  over  1,000  miles.     Here  is  a  question  in  arithmetic  for 


A   MARSHALL   ISLANDS  VILLAGE. 

the  stockholders  of  the  Morning  Star.  How  many  whole  days'  steaming  would 
that  be  at  five  miles  per  hour?  Here  is  another.  How  much  patience  must  the 
captain  have  to  keep  him  from  "jumping  on  his  hat  "  while  beating  from  Ruk  to 
Kusaie,  700  miles,  with  a  three-knot  breeze.  "  Jumping  on  one's  hat "  is  the 
seaman's  expression  for  showing  impatience  at  calms  and  contrary  winds. 

On  February  25  we  were  homeward  bound  and  had,  as  usual,  head  winds  and 
fair  winds,  storms  and  calms,  and  on  one  night  the  Star  ran  ashore  on  a  sunken 
reef.  But  we  were  able  to  get  her  off  again  the  same  day  and  go  on  our  voyage. 
Perhaps  some  of  the  Star's  stockholders  were  praying  for  her  at  that  time.  We 
love  to  think  in  times  of  trouble  that  so  many  prayers  are  being  offered  for 
the  ship  and  those  on  board.  Indeed,  we  need  God's  help  and  guidance  at  all 
times,  but  in  special  trials  or  troubles  we  are  more  apt  to  feel  this  need  and  our 
helplessness  without  him.  On  April  8,  1895,  the  Star  arrived  safe  in  Honululu, 
having  completed  her  twelfth  voyage  to  Micronesia. 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE   OF   MICRONESIA. 


The  Morning  Star  arrived  at  Honolulu  on  March  16,  after  its  thirteenth  annual 
voyage  to  Micronesia.  A  letter  from  Captain  Garland  in  reference  to  the  vessel 
may  be  expected  before  long,  but  failing  of  that  now,  we  give  for  the  young 
people  some  incidents  from  Micronesia,  drawn  chiefly  from  the  journal  letter  of 
Mrs.  Garland,  the  wife  of  the  captain,  who  remained  on  Kusaie  while  the  Star 
was  making  her  trips  through  the  several  island  groups. 

The  people  of  the  Marshall  and  the  Gilbert  groups  speak  different  languages, 
and  since  these  islands  are  all  coral  and  but  a  few  feet  above  the  water,  and  with 
comparatively  little  vegetation,  the  food  is  limited  to  cocoanuts  and  breadfruit 
and  pandanus,  and  it  is  not  prudent  for  American  missionaries  to  attempt  to  live 
on  them  for  any  long  period.     How  then  shall  these  islands  be  reached  with  the 


A  CORAL  ISLAND  OF  MICRONESIA. 

gospel  message  ?  Only  by  native  preachers  and  teachers  who  are  accustomed  to 
that  scanty  mode  of  living.  But  how  shall  these  native  preachers  and  teachers 
be  prepared  for  that  work?  The  method  adopted,  as  some  of  you  know,  is  to 
take  them  from  their  native  islands  to  Kusaie,  which  is  from  400  to  600  miles 
distant.  This  is  a  high  island,  as  you  will  see  by  the  picture  on  the  next  page, 
having  mountains  and  streams,  where  good  gardens  can  be  cultivated.  It  is 
no  little  task  for  your  vessel,  the  Morning  Star,  to  go  around  the  Marshall  and 
Gilbert  groups,  collect  the  young  people,  bring  them  up  to  Kusaie  for  a  year  of 
study,  and  then  on  the  next  annual  voyage  to  take  them  back  that  they  may  visit 
their  old  homes  and  friends,  and  after  a  brief  stay  bring  most  of  them  back 
again  to  Kusaie  for  further  study.  It  takes  the  Star  several  weeks  to  go  through 
each  of  these  groups,  aside  from  its  voyage  westward  to  Ruk  and  to  the  Mort- 
locks  and  other  of  the  Caroline  Islands. 


3 i 8  The  Young  People  of  Micronesia. 

After  some  years  of  study  at  the  Training  Schools  at  Kusaie,  these  native  young 
men  and  women  are  taken  back  to  the  islands  from  which  they  came,  and 
become  preachers  and  teachers  of  their  own  people. 

In  her  journal-letter  Mrs.  Garland  reports  the  sending  out  in  November  last, 
of  some  Gilbert  young  men  and  women  who  had  been  in  the  Training  School 
for  some  time.  On  the  morning  when  the  Star  was  to  sail,  two  young  men  were 
married  to  two  of  the  girls  from  the  same  group,  Abera  taking  Boaia  for  his  wife, 
and  Taokai  taking  Abana.  The  last  couple  came  from  Apaiang,  the  island  on 
which  Dr.  Hiram  Bingham  attempted  to  live,  and  did  live  so  long.  Of  the 
wedding  and  of  the  brides,  Mrs.  Garland  says  :  — 

"  Abana  and  Boaia,  in  their  simple  white  dresses,  with  the  silver  cross  at  the 
neck  and  shining  braids  tied  with  white  ribbons,  stood  beside  the  young  men  in 
their  black  clothes,  with  faces  serious  and  thoughtful.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  find  two  girls  who  will  be  missed  as  much  as  these  will  be  in  the  schools ; 
Abana,  strong,  mature,  always  cheerful  and  willing,  a  solid  girl  in  every  way,  one 
on  whom  we  could  depend,  and  on  whom  responsibility  could  safely  rest ;  Boaia, 
quick  and  deft  with  her  hands,  with  a  sense  of  the  beautiful  and  artistic  appreci- 
ation very  rare  among  the  islanders,  quiet  and  gentle.  Both  girls  came  in  1890, 
and  have  grown  to  be  a  very  dear  part  of  the  school  family,  and  lately  almost 
indispensable,  since  so  many  new  members  have  come  in  and  so  many  of  the  old 
scholars  have  been  sent  out.  But  after  all  it  is  those  who  can  be  least  spared 
who  are  best  prepared  to  go.  Can  you  wonder  that  they  clung  to  us  until  the 
last  moment?" 

Some  of  these  young  people  who  come  from  heathen  homes,  if  they  can  be 
called  homes,  and  are  brought  to  Kusaie,  prove  to  be  very  bright  and  teachable, 
and  their  teachers  become  exceedingly  attached  to  them.  Mrs.  Garland  writes 
of  six  little  Gilbert  Island  girls  with  whom  she  held  private  meetings,  since  they 
seemed  to  be  too  young  to  get  all  the  instruction  they  needed  in  the  meetings 
of  the  older  people.  The  first  meeting  with  these  girls  she  describes  as 
follows  :  — 

"  They  seemed  to  feel  it  a  very  important  occasion,  as  they  sat  before  me  in  a 
solemn  little  row,  with  their  Bibles  and  hymn  books.  I  told  the  story  of  Christ 
receiving  the  children,  imagining  a  Hebrew  mother  with  a  sick  child  who  went 
to  Jesus  and  persuaded  her  friends  to  keep  her  company  with  their  little  ones. 
Then  we  talked  over  some  of  the  things  that  it  would  please  Jesus  to  have 
these  girls  do,  and  each  promised  to  try  to  overcome  one  fault  this  week,  for  His 
sake.  I  gave  each  a  slip  of  paper,  and  after  meeting  they  took  a  little  time  to 
think,  and  then  each  wrote  on  her  paper  what  she  considered  the  hardest  fault 
for  her  to  fight  against,  and  against  which  she  would  fight  for  this  week.  I  am  the 
only  one  to  see  the  papers.  One  paper,  in  its  cramped,  childish  writing  is  quite 
pathetic.  It  says,  '  I  am  Reara,  and  there  is  just  one  thing  which  is  a  stumbling- 
block  to  me  every  day  —  limes'  You  see  the  limes  have  been  scarce  here,  and 
it  has  been  necessary  to  make  a  strict  rule  that  no  girl  shall  help  herself  to  any, 
but  bring  into  the  house  any  limes  she  may  find  under  the  trees.  Whenever  it 
is  possible,  and  when  all  can  share  alike,  the  girls  are  allowed  to  have  some. 
But  the  limes  are  a  great  source  of  temptation,  for  nearly  all  the  girls  are  fond 
of  them,  and  the  small  Reara  was  so  ingenuous  in  her  confession  that  I  thought, 


The  Young  l\\fle  of  Micronesia. 


1  i 


320  The  Young  People  of  Micronesia. 

'  Dear  child,  I  hardly  think  you  are  the  only  one  that  finds  the  limes  a  stumbling- 
block.'  " 

One  of  the  interesting  incidents  of  the  year  at  Kusaie  was  the  coming  into  the 
harbor  of  a  German  man-of-war.  Germany  claims  to  own  the  Marshall  group  of 
islands,  and  a  few  years  since  a  commissioner  was  sent  for  these  islands,  who 
resides  at  Jaluij.  The  first  commissioner  was  not  very  friendly  to  the  missionary 
work,  and  there  were  a  good  many  misunderstandings.  It  was  feared  that 
he  might  prevent  the  taking  of  pupils  to  Kusaie  for  study.  But  a  year  or 
two  ago  another  commissioner  came,  and  a  better  understanding  was  secured 
and  the  Christian  work  in  the  group  has  not  been  seriously  hindered.  When  the 
Star  last  visited  Jaluij,  the  commissioner  promised  that  he  would  go  to  Kusaie 
as  soon  as  a  German  man-of-war  arrived,  and  on  the  ioth  of  December  last  the 
vessel  suddenly  appeared  in  the  harbor.  There  was  no  time  to  make  special 
preparation  to  receive  this  high  official,  but  Mrs.  Garland  had  previously  taught 
the  girls  the  tune  of  the  German  national  song,  "  The  Watch  on  the  Rhine." 


BUTARITARI,  GILBERT  ISLANDS,  FROM  THE  SEA. 

She  hurriedly  wrote  on  the  blackboard  two  verses  of  words  in  English,  and 
drilled  the  girls  in  singing  them  for  about  half  an  hour.  Suddenly  the  Marshall 
Island  chief,  Letokwa,  who  came  with  the  commissioner,  appeared  on  shore  and 
seemed  very  glad  to  see  all  the  Marshall  Island  girls,  and  there  soon  followed 
him  the  commissioner  himself,  with  the  captain  and  the  first  lieutenant  of  the 
man-of-war.  Mrs.  Garland  explained  to  them  that  the  girls  would  like  to  sing  a 
hymn  in  their  honor,  and  consent  was  given.  The  girls  sang  the  two  verses 
finely,  and  Mrs.  Garland  writes  :  "  As  I  left  the  organ,  Dr.  Irmer  jumped  from  his 
chair  and  grasped  my  hand,  saying,  '  I  gif  you  my  gompliments ;  it  is  a  great 
surprise,'  etc.,  with  genuine  tears  in  his  eyes.  He  said  a  great  deal,  in  his 
demonstrative  way,  of  the  great  pleasure  it  had  given  him,  and  his  astonishment 
that  natives  could  learn  to  sing  so  harmoniously.  Turning  to  Dr.  Pease,  the 
commissioner  said,  '  When  I  come  home  to  Germany,  I  will  tell  how  I  have  this 
great  pleasure  to  hear  in  your  school  in  Kusaie  our  national  air,  so  very  sweet 
and  good.  It  is  so  great  surprise.'  Later  on  the  commissioner,  as  he  was- 
leaving,  turned  to  say,  '  You  shall  have  so  many  girls  as  you  like  from  the 
Marshall  Islands.'  " 

Was  not  this  a  delightful  incident?  Perhaps  that  fine  singing  may  have  much 
to  do  in  the  future  with  progress  of  the  gospel  among  the  many  islands  of  the 
Marshall  group. 


FROM  THE   MORNING  STAR    IN    1896. 


y^-'r-^  )H1-  Morning  Star  sailed  from  Honolulu  in  June  last 
for  Micronesia,  but  before  sailing  Captain  Garland 
wrote  a  letter  for  the  young  people  who  are  stock- 
holders, which  we  are  glad  to  give  in  these  pages. 
It  is  twelve  years  since  the  vessel  was  launched  at 
Bath,  Maine,  and  we  fear  that  the  young  people  of 
the  present  generation  either  have  not  known  or  have 
forgotten  about  the  vessel,  so  we  present  again  a 
little  cut  of  the  craft  as  she  was  when  sailing  away  from  Boston 
harbor,  October  27,  1884.  It  will  be  remembered  that  she  is  a 
barkentine,  with  three  masts  and  what  is  called  auxiliary  steam 
power,  to  be  used  chiefly  in  calms  and  currents.  It  is  commonly  said  that  the 
money  to  build  the  vessel  was  provided  chiefly  by  the  children,  and  this  is  true. 
And  yet  many  of  the  young  people 
will  remember  that  not  less  than 
twelve  persons,  each  over  1  oo  years 
of  age,  in  1884  became  stock- 
holders. The  gifts  came  from  all 
classes  and  from  all  lands.  One  of 
the  articles  provided  for  the  vessel 
was  an  axe  made,  and  its  handle 
fitted  and  painted,  by  one  of  these 
centenarians  to  whom  we  have 
alluded.  The  Bible  in  the  cabin 
came  from  the  pupils  of  the  High 
School  in  Marsovan,  Turkey.  We 
have  now  before  us  a  list,  covering 

five  written  pages,  of  special  articles  given  at  the  time  for  the  use  of  the  vessel. 
The  prayers  of  these  numberless  givers  must  have  followed  their  ship,  for  she  has 
now  for  twelve  years  been  sailing  the  seas,  and  God  has  kept  her  from  all  serious 
harm.  Her  white  wings  bring  joy  wherever  they  are  seen  among  the  islands  of 
Micronesia.  We  want  our  young  people  to  remember  the  vessel  and  her  captain, 
and  to  give  and  pray  constantly  for  the  islanders  to  whom  she  takes  the  blessed 
message  of  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ.  Captain  Garland's  letter,  written  from 
Honolulu,  will  tell  some  incidents  about  the  vessel. 

Morning  Star,  Honolulu,  June,  1S96. 
To  the  Stockholders  of  the  Morning  Star ; 

The  captain  of  your  vessel  is  sometimes  addressed  by  strangers  as  follows  : 
"  Captain,  I  own  shares  in  your  ship  ;  "  or,  "  Captain,  I  remember  having  a  ten- 
cent  share  in  the  Morning  Star  when  I  was  a  boy;"  or,  "  Captain,  how  many 


MORNING    STAR,    No.  4. 


322 


From  the  Morning  Star. 


Morning  Stars  have  there  been?"  When  so  addressed  the  captain  generally 
invites  these  strangers  to  come  on  board  and  look  at  their  property.  Occasionally 
one  complains  of  not  having  received  any  dividends  from  his  investment.     It 


would  be  easy  to  show  how  much  good  his  money  has  done,  but  generally  it  is 
enough  to  say  that  the  money  has  been  given  to  the  Lord,  and  that  he  will 
abundantly  reward  in  his  own  time. 


From  the  Morning  Star.  323 

Just  at  present  thcSVfcris  in  Honolulu,  fitting  out  and  loading  for  herfour- 

teenth  voyage  to  Micronesia,  and  perhaps  some  of  the  small  shareholders  who 
cannot  come  on  board  would  like  a  short  report  of  her.  The  few  repairs  for  the 
year  are  completed.  Nearly  all  of  the  supplies  for  the  ship  and  missionaries  are 
safely  stowed  in  the  hold,  and,  with  most  of  the  old  crew  to  care  for  her,  she 
will  sail  in  a  few  days  for  Micronesia. 

It  is  the  same  round  year  after  year  for  the  Star  and  her  company.  She  visits 
the  same  islands,  and  drops  her  anchor  in  the  same  coral  lagoons.  So  clear  is 
the  water  in  many  places  where  we  stop,  that  the  anchor  can  be  seen  lying  on  the 
coral  many  fathoms  below  the  surface.  In  the  same  clear  water  can  be  seen 
multitudes  of  fishes  of  all  sizes,  from  great  sharks  and  swordfish  down  to  tiny 
ones,  many  of  them  colored. 

The  boys  from  the  Kusaie  Training  Schools,  who  are  often  on  board,  are  very 
fond  of  fish  and  fishing,  and  so  are  the  sailors  on  the  Star.  When  fish  are  in 
sight  it  is  a  standing  privilege  for  the  crew  to  leave  their  work,  unless  it  is  very 
important,  and  go  fishing.  That  is  one  of  our  ways  for  getting  fresh  food,  for 
you  must  know  that  in  Micronesia  there  are  no  fish  or  meat  markets,  and  we 
depend  largely  on  canned  food.  Occasionally  a  large  green  turtle,  perhaps 
three  feet  in  length,  is  brought  to  us.  This  is  a  great  prize.  We  also  eat  many 
chickens  on  the  Star,  trading  with  the  natives  for  them. 

I  am  reminded  of  an  amusing  sight  we  witnessed  once  when  we  were  at  Ruk. 
The  Ruk  natives  were  then  pretty  wild,  and  they  are  so  still.  The  Star  was  at 
anchor  near  the  mission  premises,  and  one  morning  about  daylight  we  heard  a 
great  shouting  of  natives  and  splashing  of  paddles.  Upon  looking  out  we  saw 
the  natives  coming  from  nearly  all  directions  straight  for  the  ship.  At  first  we 
were  not  sure  of  their  intentions.  Possibly  they  were  coming  to  attack  us.  But 
we  soon  found  they  were  bent  upon  trading.  We  motioned  to  them  not  to  come 
on  board  until  sunrise,  and  so  they  surrounded  the  ship  in  their  canoes.  At  six 
o'clock  I  counted  300  men  in  the  canoes,  and  many  more  came  later.  When  I 
gave  the  word,  oh  !  what  a  scrambling  and  shouting  and  cackling  there  was, 
for  almost  every  man  had  in  his  hands  from  one  to  a  dozen  chickens  which  he 
wished  to  sell.  I  got  out  my  calico  and  fishhooks  and  began  trading.  It  is  only 
since  the  missionaries  went  to  Micronesia  that  the  natives  knew  the  value  of 
money,  and  hence  the  trading  is  not  with  gold  and  silver,  but  with  goods.  They 
sell  whatever  they  have  for  cloth  or  knives  or  fishhooks.  So  eager  were  these 
Ruk  natives  to  get  these  articles  that  they  crowded  about  me  and  I  was 
obliged  to  go  up  on  top  of  the  house,  six  feet  above  their  heads,  and  refuse  to 
buy  of  any  who  came  up  where  I  was.  In  a  few  minutes  my  coops  were  full  and 
I  had  to  stop,  much  to  the  sorrow  of  the  natives.  Four  small  fishhooks  would 
buy  a  chicken. 

I  wonder  if  some  of  the  stockholders  would  not  like  to  take  a  peep  into  the 
Star's  hold,  and  see  what  she  carries  there.  Looking  down  either  hatchway  at 
first  is  like  looking  down  into  a  coal  mine,  for  we  keep  our  store  of  coal  there, 
and  have  on  board  about  200  tons.  We  are  eight  or  ten  months  away  from  port, 
and  it  takes  this  large  amount  to  keep  the  ship  going  in  the  calms  we  meet.  In 
twenty-four  hours  we  burn  under  the  boiler  about  four  tons  of  coal,  which  drives 
us  at  the  rate  of  five  and  one  half  knots,  a  knot  being  a  little  more  than  a  mile. 


324 


From  the  Morning  Star. 


Besides  the  coal  there  is  generally  in  the  hold  quite  a  quantity  of  lumber, 
going  down  for  repairs  on  the  mission  premises  and  for  new  buildings.  Then 
there  are  barrels  of  beef  and  pork,  salmon,  sugar,  coffee,  cases  of  flour,  boxes  of 
dry  goods,  baby  carts  and  bath  tubs,  furniture  and  water  tanks.  All  these  are 
found  useful  and  necessary  among  the  islands,  and  the  natives  do  not  produce 
them.  The  water  tanks  are  to  catch  and  hold  rain  water,  for  there  are  no  wells 
on  coral  islands  which  will  yield  good  drinking  water.  Once  when  the  Star  was 
short  of  water  in  the  Gilbert  group,  we  went  on  shore  at  one  of  the  islands  and 
cleaned  out  what  is  called  a  "  water  hole."  This  water  hole  had  a  very  brackish 
water  used  by  the  natives,  not  good,  yet  better  than  none.  So  we  thought  we 
would  get  some  for   use  on  the  ship.     We  cleaned   out    the  hole,   and   while 


qPPPW 


-  ■  ■-  ■■  ■••  • 


BENJAMIN,    PREACHER   AT   EBON,    WITH    HIS   WIFE. 


waiting  for  it  to  fill  up  again  we  went  on  board  ship  for  dinner.  After  dinner, 
on  coming  suddenly  in  sight  of  the  hole,  what  was  our  surprise  to  see  several 
women  and  children  jump  out  of  it  and  run  away.  They  evidently  thought  it  a 
fine  opportunity  for  a  bath,  and  had  improved  it  at  our  expense.  So  we  had  to 
bail  it  all  out  once  more  and  wait  for  it  to  refill.  But  the  next  time  we  kept 
watch  over  it. 

But  now  the  ship  is  ready  to  start  another  voyage ;  we  hope  to  be  back  again 
in  about  nine  months'  time.  Meanwhile  we  want  all  the  mission  children  to 
remember  us  and  help  us  with  their  prayers,  that  we  may  be  guarded  every  day 
and  that  we  may  accomplish  all  the  work  for  which  we  are  sent. 

Your  friend,  George  F.  Garland. 


AMONG  THE   MORTLOCK    ISLANDS    IN    1S96. 


i 


HE  Mortlock  Islands,  situated  about  300  miles  south- 
west from  Ponape,  form  a  subordinate  group  in  the 
Caroline  archipelago.  Some  twenty-four  years  ago, 
in  1873,  three  Christian  Ponapeans,  with  their  wives, 
volunteered  to  go  to  the  Mortlocks  and  live  with  the 
people  in  order  to  Christianize  them.  It  was  a  very 
brave  thing  for  them  to  do,  for  they  left  at  Ponape 
what  to  them  was  luxury,  to  live  on  small  and  low 
coral  islands  where  there  was  risk  of  starvation  and 
among  people  who  were  altogether  heathenish.  In  1S79  Rev. 
and   Mrs.    Robert   W.  Logan,  who  had  lived  for  five   years  on 

Ponape,  volunteered  to  go  to  the  Mortlocks  to  reside.     The  two  years  which 

they  spent  there  were    trying  to   health,  the  means  of   subsistence  being  very 

inadequate  and  the  loneliness  being  absolute.     They  were  compelled  to  leave 

to  save  life  ;  indeed,  it 

seemed  for  a  time  as  if 

Mr.  Logan  would  not 

live    to    reach    home. 

But  after  a  strange  and 

wonderful    experience 

in    voyaging    to    New 

Zealand   and  thence 

to  San  Francisco,  Mr. 

Logan  recovered,  and 

he  and  his  wife  re- 
turned   to    Micronesia 

in    18S4,    and    were 

located  upon  the  high 

island    of    Ruk,    from 

which  station  they 

hoped  to  visit  occasion- 
ally the  churches  they 

had  established  within 

the    Mortlock    group. 

Mr.    Logan    died    in 

1887,  but  Mrs.  Logan 

still  maintains  her  Girls'  School  on  the  island  of  Ruk,  and  now  we  have  her 

journal  regarding  a  recent  tour  made  in  the  schooner  named  for  her  husband, 

325 


MISSIONARY   SCHOONER    ROBERT    W.    LOGAN. 


326 


Amojig  the  Mortlock  Islands. 


the  Robert  IV.  Logan,  in  which  she  and  Mr.  Price,  of  Ruk,  visited  a  number 
of  the  islands  with  which  she  was  once  familiar,  but  which  she  had  not  seen 
for  a  long  time.  It  was  in  November  last  that  this  tour  was  made,  and  we  are 
glad  to  give  here  a  number  of  extracts  from  her  interesting  account  of  these 
islands  of  the  Mortlock  group.     She  writes  :  — 

"It  has  been  a  number  of  years  since  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  visiting  the 
people  here,  but  when  I  went  home  three  years  ago  we  were  all  forced  to  admit, 
from  what  we  could  learn  about  them,  that  these  churches  were  not  in  a  flourish- 
ing condition.  But  the  tide  seems  to  have  turned  and  we  now  find  much  to 
rejoice  our  hearts  and  to  make  us  feel  hopeful.     We  are  taking  abundant  time 


MAP  OF   MICRONESIA. 


to  look  after  the  work  thoroughly,  except  at  the  islands  where  there  is  no  anchor- 
age, as  at  Nama,  Namaluk,  and  Etal. 

"At  Namaluk  it  is  often  difficult  to  effect  a  landing,  as  the  boat  passage  is 
narrow  and  crooked,  and  if  there  is  any  wind  the  sea  beats  the  shore  with  great 
violence.  We  had  an  unusually  good  landing  this  time,  though  we  were  not 
wholly  free  from  danger.  As  we  neared  the  breakers  Mr.  Price  looked  askance 
at  them,  and  suggested  returning  to  the  schooner  and  leaving  me,  but  I  was 
anxious  to  go  on  shore  if  I  could  safely  do  so,  and  the  little  boat  pushed  on.  I 
was  very  glad  I  went  on,  for  these  islanders  have  few  visitors  on  account  of  this 
difficulty  in  landing,  and  the  teacher  and  his  wife  need  the  help  and  encourage- 
ment which  such  visits  give.  I  was  glad  to  see  them,  and  felt  like  mothering 
them  too,  for  they  were  both  in  our  school  at  Oniop,  and  Mr.  Logan  baptized 


Among'  the  Mortlock  Islands. 


y-7 


them  both  and  married  them.     It  was  cheering  to  see  the  evidences  of  the  good 

work  they  are  doing. 

"  Lukunor,  November  /;.-We  came  to  anchor  this  morning  to  this  lagoon 
just  off  the  mission  station.  We  left  Satoan  yesterday  morning  early,  and  hoped 
to  be  at  anchor  before  night,  but  the  wind  died  away,  so  we  rolled  and  drifted. 
It  rained  at  times,  and  as  we  now  have  twenty-two  Mortlockers  on  board  the 
Logan,  who  are  going  to  Ruk  to  school,  it  was  a  little  difficult  to  dispose  of  them 
all  comfortably.  When  the  weather  is  fair  it  is  no  trouble  for  them  to  sleep  any- 
where, but  of  course  we  cannot  let  them  lie  out  in  the  rain.  However,  we  have 
had  mostly  pleasant  weather,  and  Captain  Foster  is  skilful  in  finding  places  to 
stow  people  away.     '  Weeping  may  endure  for  the  night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the 


THE    CHURCH    AT    LUKUNOR. 


morning,'  were  the  words  which  came  to  my  mind  as  we  stood  on  the  deck  quite 
early  and  saw  the  crowds  assembled  on  the  wharf  and  along  the  shore,  waving 
branches  of  trees  and  singing  a  song  of  welcome  and  greeting,  interspersed  now 
and  then  with  an  enthusiastic  cheer  ! 

"  We  ate  our  breakfast  and  then  stepped  down  into  the  little  boat  and  were  off 
for  the  shore.  There  was  a  great  crowd  at  the  landing,  singing  and  waving  their 
branches,  some  with  flowers  tied  to  them.  Then  the  hand-shaking  began.  We 
both  thought  that  some  of  the  small  boys,  who  grasped  our  hands  very  enthusi- 
astically at  one  end  of  the  line,  mischievously  stepped  in  near  the  other  end  and 
secured  another  shake.  Joni  and  Senopia,  the  teachers  here,  were  in  our  school 
and  family  in  the  old  days  at  Ruk,  so  it  was  a  little  more  to  me  than  any  of  the 
other  meetings  had  been,  and,  as  Lukunor   is  only  nine  or  ten  miles  from  our 


32^  Among  the  Mortlock  Islands. 

Oniop  home,  we  were  here  a  number  of  times  during  our  memorable  year  at 
Oniop.  The  people  assembled  in  the  church  at  the  blowing  of  the  conch  shell, 
a  large  congregation,  six  or  seven  hundred  ;  such  a  fine-looking  congregation  too ; 
a  good  deal  of  respectable  clothing  among  them,  no  paint,  no  ear  ornaments ; 
and  I  should  say  here  that  we  have  seen  almost  none  of  the  paint  since  leaving 
Ruk,  which  is  a  great  step  in  advance.  I,  who  saw  something  of  the  seed 
sowing  in  the  years  ago,  am  indeed  ready  to  rejoice  in  that  which  I  see  here 
to-day  of  growth  and  progress. 

"  We  started  early  one  Wednesday  morning  for  Oniop,  Joni  going  with  us ; 
and  reached  there  in  time  to  go  on  shore  for  meeting,  soon  after  nine  o'clock 
a.m.  They  were  days  not  to  be  forgotten.  Old  memories  crowded  thick  and 
fast  upon  me,  and  heart  and  eyes  were  again  and  again  full  beyond  control.  To 
enter  again  the  little  native-built  house  where  as  a  family  we  had  comfortably 
and  joyfully  stowed  ourselves  away  for  more  than  a  year,  to  sit  again  in  the  room 
where  my  husband  had  sat  and  translated  and  I  had  copied  out  a  large  part  of 
the  New  Testament,  to  see  again  the  long  white  beach  which  used  to  be  our 
daily  favorite  walk,  the  cocoanut  trees  about  which  the  children  used  to  play, 
and  many  other  reminders  of  the  happy  past,  stirred  me  beyond  expression. 
The  people  welcomed  us  most  heartily,  and  we  found  here  the  same  evidences  of 
a  great  and  divine  work  which  have  greeted  us  in  every  island  since  we  started 
on  this  voyage.  The  two  days  were  busy  ones,  and  there  was  much  work  to  be 
done.  Mr.  Price  married  a  large  number,  and  baptized  and  received  to  the 
church  fifty-six.  He  also  baptized  twenty-seven  children.  It  was  a  real  pleasure 
to  commend  and  encourage  the  teacher  and  his  wife  for  their  faithful  work,  and 
we  came  away  feeling  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  on  this  little  island  liter- 
ally all  the  people  shall  have  been  gathered  into  the  fold.  By  this,  of  course,  I 
do  not  mean  that  they  are  all  educated,  civilized  people,  or  that  they  all  wear 
clothing,  but  they  have  given  up  their  heathenism,  they  are  doing  some  hard 
things  for  Christ's  sake,  and  it  is  very  plain  that  the  leaven  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  is  working  in  their  hearts.  We  spent  two  days  there,  again  coming  to 
anchor  at  Lukunor  by  moonlight,  Thursday  evening. 

"  This  island  of  Lukunor  is  probably  the  most  fertile,  as  it  is  the  most  popu- 
lous, of  these  Mortlock  Islands;  there  being  about  1,000  people,  including  the 
children,  who  are  numerous.  We  had  a  most  interesting  day  yesterday.  In 
the  morning  Mr.  Price  married  a  large  number  of  young  people  and  baptized 
and  received  into  the  church  144.  Joni  said  that  he  and  his  wife  had  had  a 
serious  time  hunting  for  names  for  converts,  as  they  all  wanted  Christian  names. 
He  said  they  had  literally  exhausted  their  foreign  vocabulary  and  had  resorted  to 
the  geography,  using  some  names  of  foreign  cities.  Many  of  the  names  cer- 
tainly bore  the  stamp  of  originality. 

"This  service  of  baptizing  the  little  ones  means  much  to  these  people,  and  it 
gives  a  decided  emphasis  to  the  family  life  and  to  their  Christian  faith  to  have 
the  father  and  mother  bring  their  little  ones  and  stand  together  before  the  con- 
gregation while  the  children  are  baptized  in  the  '  Name  which  is  above  every 
name.' 

"  I  rejoice  to  tell  my  friends  that  the  outlook  in  the  work  is  much  more  cheer- 
ing and  hopeful  than  it  has  been  for  many  years." 


THE   STORY   OF   TARA. 

BY    MKs.    MARY    K.    LOGAN,    OF    RUK,    MICRONESIA. 


In  i  S 7 S ,  while  we  were  living  on  Ponape,  there  came  to  us  one  day  two  young 
men  who  interested  us  very  much.  They  had  recently  arrived  from  the  Samoan 
Islands,  where  they  had  been  employed  as  plantation  laborers.  They  were 
natives  of  Oleai,  an  island  lying  600  or  700  miles  west  of  Ponape.  One  of 
the  young  men  was  quite  fmedooking,  with  regular  features,  but  the  other, 
though  large  and  strong  apparently,  was  not  particularly  good-looking.  This 
one  came  to  us  again  in  a  few  days  and  asked  if  he  could  come  and  live  on  the 
mission  premises. 

He  spoke  English  very  brokenly,  but  he  made  us  understand  that  while  on  the 
plantation  he  had  become  attached  to  and  had  married  a  Mortlock  woman,  also 
a  plantation  laborer,  who  had  promised  to  go  with  him  to  his  home  on  Oleai 
when  they  were  brought  from  Samoa.  The  vessel  which  was  taking  the  laborers 
to  their  homes  called  at  the  Mortlocks  to  leave  some  natives.  This  man's  wife 
went  on  shore  to  see  her  friends  and  they  refused  to  allow  her  to  go  to  Oleai  and 
took  measures  to  prevent  her  return  to  the  ship.     So  the  poor  man  lost  her. 

He  went  on  to  his  home  in  Oleai,  but  felt  badly  about  his  wife  and  wanted  to 
return  to  her.  The  vessel  did  not  stop  at  Mortlock  on  the  way  back,  so  he  was 
brought  to  Ponape.  He  came  to  us  and  asked  to  be  permitted  to  stay  with  us 
until  the  Morning  Star  came,  when  he  hoped  to  get  passage  on  her  to  Mortlock, 
where  he  could  join  his  wife.  We  consented  to  his  coming,  but  after  we  had 
done  so  Mr.  Logan  felt  that  he  had  perhaps  made  a  mistake,  as  we  saw  that  he 
used  tobacco  and  we  had  to  be  very  careful  about  seeming  to  sanction  the  use 
of  tobacco.  But  he  came,  and  within  a  few  days  he  left  off  the  use  of  the  nar- 
cotic and  I  do  not  think  he  ever  used  it  from  that  time  onward. 

He  told  us  his  name  was  Tara.  He  had  not  been  long  with  us  before  an 
incident  occurred  which  showed  us  something  of  the  value  of  the  man  who  had 
thus  drifted  to  us.  We  had  living  with  us  a  young  man  and  his  wife  from  Mort- 
lock. Their  marriage  was  a  recent  one  and  had  been  arranged  by  their  friends, 
as  is  usually  the  case,  and  the  young  people  seemed  to  have  some  difficulty  in 
adjusting  themselves  to  each  other.  The  man  was  an  easy,  shiftless  sort  of 
a  fellow,  always  leaving  undone  that  which  he  ought  to  do,  and  it  worried  and 
annoyed  his  wife.  She  felt  very  grateful  to  us  for  her  home  with  us,  and  for 
what  we  were  trying  to  do  for  them,  and  was  anxious  to  have  her  husband  show 
by  his  conduct  that  he,  too,  was  grateful.  She  used  occasionally  to  reprove  him 
for  his  heedlessness.  One  day,  after  having  administered  to  him  a  little  rebuke 
for  some  misdemeanor,  he  stood  with  a  long  pole  in  his  hand,  such  as  is  used  in 
gathering  breadfruit,  and  as  she  turned  away  he  threw  the  breadfruit  pole  after 
her  with  such  aim  that  he  hit  her  in  the  back  and  felled  her  to  the  ground.     We 

were  all  afraid  she  was  dead,  and  she  did  seem  to  be  at  the  point  of  death  for 

329 


33° 


The  Story  of  Tara. 


several  days.     It  was  then  that  Tara's  skill  showed  itself.     He  at  once  took  his 

place  as  nurse  at  the  side  of  this  woman  and  took  care  of  her  until  she  recovered. 

Some  few  months  after  this  we  went  to  Mortlock  to  live  and  Tara  went  with 


us.  His  wife  was  living  on  another  islet  from  that  on  which  we  took  up  our 
abode,  and  we  did  not  see  him  for  some  few  months  after  we  landed  there.  It 
was  a  time  of  great  scarcity  of  food  and  we  were  much  shocked  one  day  when 
a  canoe  load  of  people  came  over  from  Ta,  the  island  where  they  were  living, 
and  Tara  and  his  wife  among  them,  to  see  the  pinched  look  on  their  faces  which 


The  Story  of  Tarn. 

showed  that  they  were  suffering  keenly  from  the  lack  of  food.  I  well  remember 
our  satisfaction  in  carrying  out  to  them  some  heaped-up  plates  of  food. 

They  were  anxious  to  stay  and  work  fur  us,  and  though  we  did  not  inu<  h  need 
their  help,  we  could  not  refuse  them,  so  they  were  with  us  all  the  remaining 
months  of  the  year,  and  Tara  soon  made  himself  exceedingly  useful  in  a  variety 
Of  ways.  He  showed  his  faithfulness  in  all  that  he  did.  We  felt  that  we  could 
trust  him  with  everything  we  had,  and  when  Mr.  Logan  was  ill,  it  seemed  that 
he  could  not  do  enough  for  us,  so  kind  and  thoughtful  was  he  in  all  ways. 

His  wife  proved  unfaithful  to  him  during  that  year  and  he  never  married  again. 
When  we  were  about  returning  to  Ponape,  which  we  did  early  the  following  year, 
we  hardly  knew  what  arrangements  to  make  for  Tara.  He  wanted  to  come  with 
us,  but  knowing  how  uncertain  our  movements  might  be,  as  Mr.  Logan  was 
poorly  in  health,  we  doubted  whether  it  would  be  wise.  Seeing  our  perplexity, 
Captain  Bray  offered  to  take  him  as  sailor  on  the  Maming  Star,  and  Tara 
seemed  pleased  with  the  suggestion.  So  from  this  time  the  Morning  Star 
became  his  home  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  a  useful  and  valuable  man, 
and  his  conduct  was  always  above  reproach  while  he  remained  on  the  Star.  He 
seemed  to  have  a  faculty  for  mastering  all  the  Micronesian  dialects,  and  could 
make  himself  understood  and  act  as  an  interpreter  in  a  humble  'way  in  any  of 
them.  He  was  one  of  the  sailors  at  the  time  of  the  wreck  of  the  Morning  Star 
at  Kusaie,  and  the  only  one  of  them  all  who  volunteered  to  go  with  Captain  Gar- 
land to  Ponape  in  an  open  boat,  a  distance  of  300  miles.  When  we  reached 
Ponape  by  the  Jennie  Walker,  in  1884,  we  found  him  there  awaiting  an  oppor- 
tunity to  return  to  Honolulu. 

In  18S6,  when  he  came  with  the  Morning  Star  to  Ruk,  he  came  to  Mr. 
Logan  and  told  him  that  he  wanted  to  "  stop  ashore,"  as  the  sailors  say.  He 
said  he  wanted  to  go  to  school  and  learn  to  read  ;  so  he  remained  with  us.  He 
now  seemed  thoroughly  interested  in  school  and  in  learning  to  read.  We  took 
some  special  pains  in  teaching  him  and  in  a  few  months  he  was  able  to  read 
intelligently  in  the  Mortlock  New  Testament.  He  also  seemed  interested  in 
listening  to  the  truth  and  in  church  attendance,  as  he  had  not  been  in  former 
years.  From  time  to  time  he  would  express  a  hope  that  some  day  the  Morning 
Star  would  go  to  Oleai  to  take  the  message  of  life  to  his  people  there. 

After  Mr.  Logan's  death  Tara  seemed  to  feel  that  his  place  was  again  on  the 
Morning  Star,  and  there  he  remained  until  the  building  of  the  Robert  IV.  Logan. 
He  came  to  San  Francisco  to  be  ready  to  take  his  place  as  mate  on  the  Logan 
on  her  long  voyage  to  Micronesia,  and  it  was  very  interesting  to  hear  him  tell  of  his 
visit  in  San  Francisco  and  of  the  things  which  he  saw.  His  place  ever  after  this 
was  on  the  Logan.  He  had  a  very  serious  illness  during  the  last  year  of  his  life 
at  Ruk,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snelling  did  many  things  in  the  way  of  caring  for  him, 
and  lie  seemed  to  have  a  feeling  of  real  gratitude  toward  them  for  their  care. 
On  his  return  to  health  he  took  a  more  decided  stand  as  a  Christian  than  he  had 
done  before,  though  he  was  never  taken  into  full  church  membership.  He  was 
a  frugal  and  temperate  man  and  had  saved  several  hundred  dollars  of  his  wages 
earned  as  sailor  on  the  Morning  Star.  Before  sailing  from  Honolulu,  for  Micro- 
nesia, in  the  Logan,  he  arranged  that  this  money  should  be  given  to  the  American 
Board  in  case  of  shipwreck  or  accident  to  him. 


33^ 


The  Story  of  Tara. 


When  the  Logan  was  sent  to  Japan  in  charge  of  a  Japanese  crew,  we  all  felt 
that  in  sending  Tara  with  her  we  had  one  who  would  stand  by  her  to  the  last. 
How  little  we  thought  that  this  would  be    the   last  voyage   for  Tara  and   the 


Logan  I  But  so  it  was,  for  the  vessel  has  not  since  been  heard  from,  and  Tara 
and  all  on  board  found  their  grave  in  the  sea.  It  has  not  been  my  lot  in  life  to 
know  many  people  who  have  more  fully  lived  up  to  the  light  which  they  had 
received  than  did  this  waif  from  one  of  the  far-off  islands  of  Micronesia,  which 
has  not  as  yet  been  blessed  by  the  message  of  the  gospel. 


PAPAb  LiANBS. 


GLIMPSES   OF   BOYHOOD    IN    MEXICO. 

BY    REV.    JAMES    D.    EATON,    01     CHIHUAHUA,    NORTHERN    MEXICO. 


A  boy  is  a  boy,  the  world  over;  and  though  he  may  have  been  born  a 
Mexican,  he  acts  very  much  like  the  rest  of  his  kind,  whether  he  be  at  work,  at 
play,  or  at  school.  Shall  we  cross  the  Rio  Grande  to  visit  him,  and  see  how  he 
gets  along  in  a  country  so  different  from 
our  own  ? 

Over  there,  as  well  as  here,  he  learns 
to  make  himself  useful.  It  is  true  that 
some  of  the  boys  have  rich  fathers  who 
can  afford  to  have  everything  done  by 
servants,  and  who  foolishly  think  it 
degrading  to  carry  loads  or  to  do  any 
work  that  will  soil  the  hands  ;  probably 
because  all  such  work  used  to  be  done 
by  slaves.  But  most  families  receive 
help  from  the  boys  in  many  different 
ways. 

In  the  country,  they  work  in  the 
fields,  ride  horses  to  herd  the  cattle, 
in  company  with  men  dressed  like  the 
hacendado  in  the  picture,1  with  wide- 
brimmed  hat  heavily  adorned  with 
glistening  silver  braid,  short  jacket, 
figured  leather  overalls,  and  boots  with 
large  spurs,  and  carrying  a  cartridge- 
belt  and  revolver,  besides  a  lasso  of 
twisted  horsehair  at  the  huge  saddle- 
bow ;  or  they  tend  the  flocks  of  sheep 
and  goats,  or  watch  a  great  company 
of  the  dear,  amusing  little  kids  which 
have  to  spend  the  day  apart  from  their  mothers,  so  as  to  leave  some  milk 
for  their  masters ;  gather  wood  in  the  scant  groves  and  thickets  ;  drive  to 
market  the  donkeys  laden  with  straw,  grass,  wood,  fruit,  and  whatnot  ;  or  ride 
to  town  astride  a  donkey,  which  carries  two  brown  jars  of  milk  swung  across  his 
back  in  a  frame  having  two  pockets  ingeniously  woven  of  slender  sticks  and 

1  For  the  use  of  this  and  the  two  following  cuts  we  are  indebted  to  Messrs.  Estes  &  I.auriat,  of  Boston,  publishers- 
of  Ober's  "  Travels  in  Mexico." 


HACENDADO    (FARMER). 
Copyright  by  Estes  <i  Lauriat. 


336 


Glimpses  of  Boyhood  in  Mexico. 


strips  of  rawhide.  The  other  day  a  boy  whose  mother  had  died  was  found 
grinding  hulled  corn  on  a  metate  (the  rude  stone  handmill  found  in  every 
house),  and  making  it  into  round,  flat  cakes  over  the  fire,  to  feed  his  little 
brothers.  These  tortillas  in  the  country  take  the  place  of  bread,  which  is  made 
only  at  public  bakeries  in  the  towns. 

The  working  city  boy  goes  to  the  market  before  breakfast  and  brings  home 

the  food  for  the  day,  a  few  cents'  worth 
of  bread,  meat,  and  vegetables  thrown 
together  in  a  basket,  besides  a  spoon- 
ful of  lard  on  a  saucer  to  cook  with. 
Twice  a  week  he  has  to  sweep  to  the 
middle  of  the  street  in  front  of  his 
house,  first  sprinkling  it  with  water  and 
then  using  a  small  broom  without  a 
handle,  leaving  the  dirt  in  little  piles  to 
be  gathered  up  by  the  city  scavengers. 
If  the  water  for  the  day  is  not  bought 
of  an  aguador  (who  dispenses  the 
precious  fluid  from  a  tub  on  a  cart, 
a  pair  of  leathern  bags  slung  across  a 
donkey,  or  a  small  reservoir  on  his  own 
back),  he  must  bring  a  supply  from 
the  nearest  fountain  or  stream,  carrying 
it  in  a  jar  on  his  shoulder  or  in  tin 
buckets  hung  from  a  balanced  pole. 
Perhaps  he  helps  to  support  the 
family  by  tending  a  store,  selling  from 
a  little  stall  in  the  market,  or  peddling 
about  the  streets,  carrying  in  a  basket 
on  his  head  the  bread,  cakes,  fruit,  or 
vegetables,  he  may  have  to  sell.  He  is 
very  kind  to  his  brothers  and  sisters 
and  often  helps  take  care  of  the  baby. 
Baby-carriages  are  unknown,  except  a 
few  in  the  large  cities,  so  that  he  has 
to  carry  the  little  one  from  place  to 
place.  He  will  sometimes  wrap  a  shawl 
around  himself  and  the  baby  in  such 
on  the  way  to  market.  a   way   as  to    hold    his   charge    more 

copyright  ly  Enee  <t  Lauriat.  securely,  and  will  stagger  along  under 

a  load  almost  a  big  as  himself,  but  so  patiently  as  to  make  a  stranger  wonder. 
But  do  not  think  it  is  all  work  and  no  play  for  the  black-eyed,  black-haired, 
brown-skinned  Mexican  boy.  He  can  get  the  most  fun  imaginable  out  of  the 
fewest  and  poorest  playthings.  Some  boys  in  the  cities,  with  rich  fathers,  have 
many  nice  things,  even  tricycles  and  ponies  to  ride.  But  few  can  get  more  than 
the  simplest  things,  such  as  ball,  kite,  and  top.  They  are  very  skilful  at  lifting 
the  spinning-top  from  the  ground  with  the  hand. 


Glimpses  of  Boyhood  in  Mexico 


337 


There  is  a  greal  deal  of  pitching  of  pennies,  and  other  gambling  games  with 
stones,  pieces  of  tin,  etc.,  when  the>  cannol  get  money;  following  the  bad 
example  of  most  of  the  grown  folks.  Another  common  game  of  theirs  is 
,  opied  from  the  cruel  bull-fights.     As  there  are  no  real  shears  and  knives  used, 


it  is  not  cruel,  only  noisy  and  rough.  One  boy,  who  represents  the  bull, 
pretends  to  be  enraged  by  the  flaunting  of  a  red  flag  before  his  eyes,  and  he 
tries  to  run  down  the  boys  who  torment  him,  making  believe  they  are  bull- 
fighters afoot  and  on  horseback.  This  boy  sometimes  carries  a  pair  of  real 
horns  on  his  head  and  looks  very  savage. 


3  j 


8 


Glimpses  of  Boyhood  in  Mexico. 


It  is  great  fun  to  harness  a  sheep.,  goat,  or  dog  to  a  cart,  a  stone,  a  pair  of 
ox-horns,  or  anything  that  can  be  dragged  along  the  ground.  Sometimes  a 
lizard,  or  mouse,  or  toad,  or  some  insect  is  tied  to  a  string  and  made  to  furnish 
cruel  sport.  For  while  the  children  are  generally  kind  to  one  another,  they  do 
not  seem  to  think  that  the  dumb  animals  have  feeling  as  well.  They  will  even 
make  merry  over  the  agonized  contortions  of  the  poor  dogs  periodically 
poisoned  by  the  police  and  left  to  die  in  the  streets. 

But  what  else  could  we  expect  of  those  whose  parents  take  pleasure  in 
seeing  bulls  tormented  to  death  and  fighting-cocks  cut  one  another  to  pieces 
with  razor-like  knives  fastened  to  their  spurs.  The  women,  girls,  and  even 
babies  attend  the  bull-fights.  But  our  Christians  give  up  these  savage  sports 
and  gambling. 

Only  a  few  years  ago  there  was  hardly  a  school  for  the  Mexican  boy  to  go  to  : 
so  that  he  grew  up  without  knowing  how  to  read  and  write  ;  and  thousands,  of 
men  and  women  here  do  not  know  a  single  letter.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
believing  that  "  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion,"  would  not  teach  the 
people  much  except  many  prayers  to  the  Virgin  and  the  saints,  prostrations, 
and  various  silly  ceremonies.  But  some  of  the  better  Mexicans  became  tired 
of  this  bondage,  and  freed  the  country  in  part  from  the  power  of  the  priests ; 
so  that  now  there  are  schools  supported  by  the  government  in  all  the  cities  and 
towns  and  many  villages,  in  which  are  used  some  of  our  own  books  translated 
into  the  Spanish.  Others  of  their  books  are  very  poorly  written ;  and  in  the 
schools  we  do  not  find  the  order  and  the  diligent  study  that  are  common  at  the 
North ;  while  the  practice  of  all  studying  out  loud  at  once  is  distressing  to  a 
visitor,  and  makes  a  deafening  noise  that  can  be  heard  a  long  distance  off. 
The  pupils  are  quick  to  "learn  by  heart,"  and  depend  too  much  on  the 
memory.  Boys  and  girls  never  attend  the  same  school  together,  and  the 
former  have  men  for  teachers,  while  the  latter  have  women. 

The  missions  have  schools  also,  to  show  better  ways  to  the  people,  and  teach 
the  truth  about  Jesus  our  Saviour,  and  to  educate  some  of  the  pastors  and 
teachers  to  their  own  people.  As  Mexico  is  a  republic  like  ours,  even  a  poor 
boy  has  a  chance  to  become  useful  and  famous  in  the  government.  The  best 
president  the  country  ever  had,  Benito  Juarez,  was  once  a  poor  and  ignorant 
boy  working  on  a  farm. 


+'^^\WiW3 


£^v  [ 


t 


M-,    n'HTli.  .     /all      -ii..- 


HOLY   WEEK    IN    GUADALAJARA,   1893. 

BY    REV.    JOHN    HOWLAND,    OF   GUADALAJARA. 


A  few  weeks  before  Easter,  as  I  was  spending  the  Sabbath  in  a  small  village, 
we  heard,  on  Saturday  evening,  the  droning  sound  of  the  chirimia,  a  rude  kind 
of  flute,  and  the  monotonous  tan-tan  of  a  drum  in  the  adjoining  churchyard 
The  native  pastor's  children  started  up,  exclaiming  "El  Centurion!"  On 
making  inquiries,  I  learned  that  a  passion  play  is  enacted  in  Holy  Week,  and 


A    PUEBLO,    OR    VILLAGE,    IN    MEXICO. 

that  they  were  teaching  the  centurion's  horse  to  dance,  that  he  might  take  his  part 
in  the  procession  in  a  fitting  manner.  In  that  village  no  attempt  is  made  to 
represent  the  crucifixion,  but  in  San  Andres,  a  little  place  two  or  three  miles  east 
of  the  city,  all  the  details  are  carried  out,  but  so  coarsely  and  grotesquely  as 
to  make  it  a  most  repugnant  exhibition. 

Ash  Wednesday,  with  which  Lent  begins,  is  much  more  than  a  mere  name  in 
Mexico.  On  that  day  every  person  who  does  not  wish  to  be  know  as  a  protest- 
ante,  or  some  other  kind  of  a  heretic,  has  a  cross  made  on  his  forehead  with 
ashes.      Numbers  of  priests  are  kept  busy  all  day  long  making  the  sacred  sign. 


340 


Holy  Week  in  Guadalajara. 


The  ashes  are  said  to  be  made  from  old  images  or  from  the  palms  consecrated 
the  previous  year.  Some  priests  expedite  matters  by  using  a  rubber  stamp 
instead  of  the  finger  in  applying  the  ashes.  Usually  the  cross  is  carefully 
retained  as  long  as  possible,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  see  one,  days  or  even  weeks 
afterward,  on  the  forehead  of  some  persons.  In  one  of  the  churches  of  the 
city  a  large  and  very  "  miraculous  "  image  of  the  "  Lord  of  Penance  "  is  washed 
on  Ash  Wednesday,  and  enormous  crowds  collect,  pushing  and  even  fighting  to 


THE    CATHEDRAL    AT    GUADALAJARA. 

obtain  the  water  in  which  the  image  is  bathed,  strongly  impregnated,  of  course, 
with  dust,  flyspecks,  and  the  accretions  that  result  from  the  kisses  of  the  faithful. 
This  water  is  held  to  be  most  potent  —  and  one  may  well  believe  that  it  is. 
Some  drink  it  and  others  preserve  it  to  frighten  away  the  devil,  storms,  and 
pests. 

The  approach  of  Holy  Week  brings  to  Guadalajara  crowds  of  people  from  the 
surrounding  ranches  and  villages  to  attend  the  festival.  Saturday  afternoon, 
palm-venders  gather  in  front  and  back  of  the  cathedral,  weaving  the  long 
greenish-white  palm  leaves  into  the  most  fantastic  forms.  They  sleep  in  the 
street,  on  the  cobblestone  pavements,  so  as  to  lose  no  possible  customer  in  the 
late  evening  or  early  morn.     Hundreds  of  these  palms,   braided  and  adorned 


Holy  Week  in  Guadalajara.  341 

with  flowers,  are  bought  to  be  carried  in  the  procession  in  the  cathedral,  and 
after  the  ceremony  many  of  them  are  fastened  to  the  balconies  or  window 
ings,  t heir  presence  being  supposed  to  insure  the  house  against  lightning.    The 

ceremony  in  the  cathedral  is  interesting  and,  in  a   certain    sense,    impn 
though  one  can  not  but  he  deeply  pained  and  indignant  in  comparing  us  real 
effect  on  the  multitude  with  what  it  ought  to  be. 

On  Saturday  and  Monday  booths  are  erected  about  the  cathedral,  the  central 
square,  and  the  theatre.  They  are  formed  by  erecting  a  rude  framework  of 
timbers  or  sticks,  the  roof  and  sides  being  made  of  cotton  cloth  or  sheets,  with 
a  curious  admixture  of  curtains,  knitted  tablespreads,  etc.  In  these  is  sold 
aqua  fresca,  sweetened  water  flavored  with  almost  all  kinds  of  fruits,  iced  and 
strengthened  with  tequila  (maguey  wine)  if  desired. 

Many  people  suspend  work  for  the  whole  week  ;  others  continue  their  labors 
untjl  Wednesday  evening.  After  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  Thursday 
before  Mister  no  bells  are  sounded  until  the  same  hour  on  Saturday.  Their 
place  is  partially  taken  by  the  tnaltraca  in  the  cathedral  tower,  an  apparatus 
consisting  of  a  wooden  spring  which  engages  a  toothed  wheel,  producing  a  curi- 
ous sound  to  be  heard  nearly  all  over  the  city.  During  Thursday  afternoon  and 
evening  nearly  everybody  goes  to  the  principal  churches  to  see  the  monitmentos, 
consisting  of  altars  extravagantly  adorned  with  candles,  arranged  in  patterns, 
plants,  flowers,  caged  birds,  etc.  The  pious  ones  pray  before  each  altar, 
but  the  large  majority  only  go  as  a  diversion.  Formerly  it  was  the  custom  for 
crowds  to  go  from  one  church  to  another,  praying  as  they  went,  but  a  few  years 
since  the  governor  posted  notices  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  was  an 
infraction  of  the  laws  which  forbid  all  religious  acts  in  public.  This  caused 
great  excitement  and  threats  of  armed  insistence  were  heard  on  all  sides.  The 
governor  undaunted  called  out  the  troops,  and  the  main  streets  were  patrolled 
by  cavalry  during  the  afternoon  and  evening.  The  custom  thus  interrupted 
has  never  been  taken  up  again. 

Before  the  time  of  Juarez,  when  the  government  was  essentially  ecclesiastical, 
Good  Friday  was  passed  in  almost  absolute  silence.  No  carriages  or  beasts  of 
burden  were  allowed  in  the  streets,  horsecars  stopped  running,  and  business  of 
every  kind  was  suspended.  Even  now,  unless  stores  are  closed  Thursday  noon, 
they  are  sure  to  be  attacked  by  an  angry  crowd  and  stoned  ;  and  only  a  few 
years  since  an  American  was  mobbed  for  riding  on  horseback  on  Friday.  Doc- 
tors, milkmen,  etc.,  still  go  almost  exclusively  on  foot  on  those  days.  Having 
occasion  to  visit  a  sick  person  on  Good  Friday  of  this  year,  we  found  the  door 
closed  and  there  was  delay  in  admitting  us.  Inquiring  the  cause,  we  found  that 
the  members  of  the  family,  who  were  desperately  poor,  were  trying  to  work, 
sewing  shoes  and  knotting  fringes,  but  were  obliged  to  keep  the  door  carefully 
closed  to  avoid  being  stoned  for  working  on  a  feast  day  !  At  the  same  time 
almost  every  form  of  vice  and  crime  is  practised  on  that  day  to  a  greater  degree 
and  more  openly  than  at  any  other  time. 

Throughout  the  week  boys  go  about  the  streets  with  images  of  all  sizes  hung 
from  the  ends  of  bamboo  poles,  shouting  "  Las  Judas!"  Why  Judas  should  be- 
spoken of  as  feminine  no  one  can  explain,  but  it  is  the  almost  universal  custom 
among  these   venders.     The    images   are    made    of  colored   paper,  ingeniously 


342 


Holy  Week  in  Guadalajara. 


rolled  and  twisted,  but  contain  powder,  so  that  setting  fire  to  a  foot  causes  the 
whole  to  explode.  Some  are  lifesize  or  even  colossal,  and  are  made  with  a 
frame  of  split  bamboo,  with  large  firecrackers  united  by  a  fuse,  and  so  arranged 
that  the  figure  whirls  and  dances,  until  at  last  there  is  a  more  violent  explosion 
which  completely  demolishes  the  whole.  These  images  are  sold  for  a  penny  or 
two  up  to  several  dollars.  Saturday  morning  people  stretch  ropes  across  the 
street  and  hang  them  full  of  these  images.  Quite  frequently  they  are  effigies, 
and  thus  give  vent  to  political,  religious  (?),  or  personal  spite. 


THE    HANGING    OF    JUDAS. 

At  ten  o'clock  a  signal  bell  is  struck  and  in  an  instant  the  city  is  transformea 
in  pandemonium.  Every  bell  clangs  at  its  loudest,  and  in  all  directions  are 
heard  the  fizz  and  the  sharp  detonations  of  the  Judases,  mingled  with  the  shouts 
of  the  crowds.  Such  an  extensive  abhorrence  of  Judas  might  naturally  be 
supposed  to  indicate  at  least  ordinary  care  in  avoiding  his  sin,  but  experience 
hardly  justifies  the  expectation.  The  special  significance  of  the  celebration  at 
this  hour  is  that  it  is  affirmed  to  be  the  hour  in  which  Christ  ascended  from 
Hades  and  entered  into  glory.  It  is  also  held  that  any  person  dying  during 
those  hours  of  silence  can  by  no  means  enter  into  glory  until  it  is  "opened." 

In  contrast  with  this  mockery,  idleness,  intemperance,  and  debauchery,  in  the 
name  of  religion,  the  Protestants  work  during  the  whole  week  when  allowed  to 
do  so,  which  is  rarely  the  case,  and  earnestly  try  to  teach,  by  example  and 
exhortation,  the  true  observance  of  the  anniversary.  This  year  communion  was 
celebrated  Thursday  evening  in  the  Methodist  church  and  on  Sabbath  evening 
with  the  Congregationalists,  and  special  services  largely  attended  were  held  in 
the  new  edifice  on  Friday  morning  and  Saturday  evening. 


THE  STORY  OF  A  SPANISH    COLPORTER. 


TRANSLATED    BY    REV.    WILLIAM    II.    <. ii.uk.    SAN    SEBASTIAN. 


It  was  a  cold  and  stormy  day.  My  traveling  companions  in  the  diligence 
were  three  women  and  a  village  priest,  and  we  had  before  us  a  journey  of  three 
hours.  Two  of  the  ladies  and  the  priest  were  residents  of  neighboring  vil 
and  were  old  acquaintances.  It  appeared  from  their  conversation  that  recently 
there  had  been  a  special  preaching  "  mission  "  at  the  village  of  one  of  the  ladies. 
Presently  this  senora  exclaims  :  "  Don  Toribio,  have  you  heard  of  the  great  suc- 
cess of  the  mission  to  my  village?  Dios  mio,  who  could  have  believed  that 
those  good  curas  would  have  had  such  good  fortune  —  no  less  than  seven  books 
they  tore  up  in  the  pulpit  before  the  congregation  !  I  do  not  know  what  the 
titles  of  the  books  were,  but  a  neighbor  of  mine  says  that  on  some  of  the  leaves 
that  fell  near  her  she  read  :  '  The  Gospel  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  and  that 
on  another  there  was  something  about  the  Virgin  ;  and  that  she  read  a  little  out 
of  them." 

" Yes,  just  so,"  replied  the  priest;  "  that  canalla  of  Protestants  cannot  suffi- 
ciently express  their  hate  of  the  Most  Holy  Virgin  ;  they  must  forever  be  exalting 
their  God  Jehovah." 

Senora.  —  "  But,  Don  Toribio,  my  neighbor  says  that  in  that  paper  nothing 
bad  is  said  of  the  Virgin." 

Cura. —  "There  it  is  !  you  too  must  be  believing  those  foul  papers." 

Senora.  —  "  Praise  be  to  the  name  of  Jesus  sacramentado!  sehor  cura,  how 
can  you  even  remotely  think  such  a  thing  of  me?  Of  me  !  when  you  know  that 
I  was  the  first  one  to  propose  that  the  missioners  should  come  from  your  village 
to  mine,  and  for  the  express  purpose  of  getting  away  from  the  people   those 

books  that  some  of  them  had  bought  at  C from  an  old  codger  who  went 

around  with  a  great  handkerchief  full  of  them.  And  some  say  that  he  has  even 
been  in  my  village  and  that  the  innkeeper  Tomas  bought  a  book  of  him.  I 
asked  him  pointblank  if  that  was  so,  and  though  he  evaded  the  answer  I  am 
sure  that  he  did." 

Cura.  —  "I  beg  you  do  not  think  that  I  suspected  you.  You  have  indeed 
given  too  many  proofs  of  zeal  for  the  church — but  those  Protestant  books  are 
enough  to  "  — 

Senora.  —  "  Holy  Virgin  of  the  Annunciation  !  Don't  vou  know  that  I  gave 
$4  for  the  mission,  and  that  the  mayor  gave  only  5  1.20?  No  wonder  that  we 
were  able  to  raise  only  S47  for  the  good  missioners,  who  were  with  us  three 
days." 


344 


The  Story  of  a  Spanish  Colporter. 


Cura. —  "  Well,  indeed,  the  fee  was  not  so  bad  as  you  seem  to  think." 
Senora.  —  "  But  it  was  worth  it  all.  There  's  Manuel  —  you  know  him  —  the 
'  liberal.'  Well,  though  he  does  not  know  it,  they  gave  his  wife  half  a  dollar  for 
a  book  that  they  heard  he  had  paid  that  price  for  [a  quarto  Bible],  and  they 
tore  it  up  secretly,  and  his  wife  is  very  much  afraid  that  he  will  find  it  out  and 
that  then  there  will  be  trouble." 

Cura.  —  "Oh,   Manuel  is  so  liberal  and  so — .     You  let  him  alone  with   me. 
I  know  how   to  rid  my   parish  of    such   vermin.     Well   did   his  eminence  the 


SPANISH  STREET   WITH    DILIGENCE. 


Bishop  say  that  it  was  necessary  that  we  should  rid  our  fields  of  those  noxious 
weeds  —  be  they  men  or  books;  as  for  the  former,  there  is  no  better  remedy 
than  a  pair  of  revolvers.  Oh,  yes,  I  know  !  it  will  not  be  the  first  time  that  I 
have  carried  them  under  my  gown." 

Senora.  —  "  Por  Dios!  my  dear  cura,  don't  risk  yourself  in  disputes  with  that 
canalla." 

Cura.  —  "  Yes  !  it  cannot  be  helped  !  At  whatever  cost  we  must  stop  the 
spread  of  those  books  that,  by  their  very  appearance  of  innocence,  are  all  the 
more  dangerous  to  honest  people  —  as  in  your  own  case,  my  dear  senora.  You 
thought  that  those  leaves  picked  up  by  your  friend  after  they  were  torn  by  the 


The  Story  of  (/  Spanish  Colporter.  .^45 

missioner  had  in  them  nothing  bad  about    the   Most    Holy  Virgin,  and 

am  sure  that   there  was  in    them    more   perverse  things   than  —     Saint    Antonio 
help  me  !  " 

SeHora. —  "  For  that  very  reason,  Hon  Toribio,  I  took  the  trouble  to  ask  her 
for  them,  and  I  myself  burned  them  up." 

Cura. —  "  How  I  wish  that  I  might  meet  face  to  face  one  of  these  traitorous 
Protestants  !  I  am  sure  that  in  my  village  there  are  none  of  those  accursed 
books  nor  any  of  those  Englishmen  who  sell  them.  It  I  should  meet  on'-  oi 
them,  I  assure  you  he  would  have  good  reason  to  call  for  help  on  his  God 
Jehovah." 

Seiiora.  — "  Tell  me,  Don  Toribio,  what  is  that  about  '  Jehovah  '  ?  " 

Cura.  —  "  What  can  I  know  about  it?  It  is  a  name  that  the  English  give  to 
their  god." 

Seiiora. —  "Holy  Virgin!  How  many  gods,  then,  do  the  English  have? 
Beside,  he  who  was  in  our  village  was  not  a  foreigner,  but  a  Spaniard,  so  they 
tell  me." 

Cura.  —  "If  so,  he  must  be  one  of  those  fools  or  vagabonds  or  criminals, 
who,  not  daring  to  confess  their  sins  to  the  priest,  leave  their  homes  and  offer 
their  services  to  whoever  will  pay  them  the  most.  As  for  any  others,  very  few 
Spaniards  will  leave  our  holy  religion,  and  they,  as  I  have  said,  are  fools." 

At  this  moment  the  diligence  stopped  to  change  horses  and  the  priest  and  the 
lady  and  one  of  the  other  women  left  the  coach  for  a  few  minutes,  to  return  when 
the  change  of  horses  had  been  made.  All  the  time  I  had  been  carrying  on  my 
knees  a  package  of  Bibles,  New  Testaments,  and  Portions  wrapped  up  in  a 
handkerchief.  It  was  not  seen,  however,  as  the  cloak  that  I  wore  covered  it 
completely.  I  took  no  part  in  the  conversation,  for  I  knew  that  if  they  should 
suspect  who  I  was,  they  would  take  means  to  prevent  my  work  in  the  villages 
where  I  was  going ;  but  all  the  time  I  was  thinking  and  was  praying  for  light  as 
to  how  best  I  might  reach  this  braggart  priest  with  a  useful  lesson.  And  now 
the  opportunity  offered.  The  priest,  too,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  coun- 
try, carried  his  modest  wardrobe  tied  up  in  a  large  cotton  handkerchief  which  he 
left  on  the  seat  of  the  coach.  This  gave  me  my  chance.  Unobserved  by  any 
one  I  slipped  into  his  bundle  a  Gospel  of  Luke. 

At  the  end  of  our  journey  we  parted,  each  going  his  own  way.  It  was  not 
until  three  months  later  that  I  was  able  to  return  to  the  village  of  the  seiiora. 
My  first  care  was  then  to  ascertain  who  was  Manuel,  the  "liberal,"  whose  wife 
had  given  his  Bible  to  the  missioner  to  be  destroyed.  I  very  quickly  found  him 
through  my  innkeeper,  who  is  also  a  liberal.  He  told  me  that  several  months 
before,  in  another  village,  he  had  bought  a  Bible  of  me,  which  he  had  read  with 
much  interest,  but  that  later  it  had  disappeared.  He  thought  that  he  must 
have  lent  it  to  someone  who  had  forgotten  to  return  it.  That  evening  I  read  to 
the  innkeeper  and  to  his  family  from  the  Bible.  The  word  went  out  quietly  and 
before  long  the  large  room  was  full  of  friendly  neighbors,  among  whom  was  the 
"  liberal  "  Manuel,  of  the  lost  Bible.  I  read  the  stories  of  Joseph  and  of  the 
crucifixion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  explained  to  him  how,  as  in  the  case  of  Joseph, 
God  ordered  that  the  crime  of  his  brethren  toward  him  should  result  in  good  to 
them  and  to  the  people  of  Israel  and  to  the  whole  world,  and  so  the  killing  of 


346 


The  Story  of  a  Spanish  Colporter. 


Christ  was  made  the  means  of  carrying  out  God's  plans  of  love  to  all  who  put 
their  trust  in  him.  They  were  all  very  attentive,  and  our  man  of  the  lost  Bible 
bought  another  to  take  its  place,  and  others  bought  some  New  Testaments  and 
several  Portions  of  the  Scriptures. 

I  found  the  opportunity  to  talk  with  Don  Manuel  about  his  lost  Bible,  and, 
after  a  little,  let  him  know  that  I  could  tell  him  what  had  become  of  it :  which 
I  did,  but  not  until  he  had  promised  to  follow  my  advice  regarding  the  parties 


PRIEST   DISCUSSING   A   TRACT. 


concerned.  He  was  quite  taken  aback,  and  was  then  furious,  but  I  held  him  to 
his  promise  to  be  guided  by  me.  I  went  with  him  to  his  house,  and  when  he 
first  asked  his  wife  about  the  book  she  denied  knowing  anything  regarding  it ; 
but  when  I  told  her  that  I  knew  all  about  it,  she  burst  into  tears  and  confessed 
all.  Among  other  things  she  said  that  though  in  the  confessional  the  missioner 
had  promised  to  pay  her  the  price  of  the  book,  he  never  gave  her  a  cent.  I 
explained  to  her  that  it  was  not  strange  that  the  priest  who  would  advise  her  to 
deceive  her  husband  should  himself  cheat  her.     The  result  of  it  all  is  that  the 


Tin-  Story  of  a  Col  porter.  347 

Roman  Catholic  Church  has  now  lost  its  influence  over  the  woman  aa  well  as 
over  the  man.  I  am  doing  what  I  can  to  make  them  see  that  it  is  not  sulti-  ient 
to  be  merely  "liberal,"  but  that  the  soul  needs  a  religion  for  its  happiness  and 
safety,  and  that  the  only  true  religion  is  that  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  all  its 

simplicity  and  purity.  These  they  are  reading  regularly,  and  I  trust  that  they 
are  being  taught  its  meaning  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

After  a  day  or  two  I  went  to  the  village  of  the  cura  of  our  story.  It  was  soon 
clear,  what  might  have  been  expected,  that  he  was  coarse  and  boastful  and  of 
violent  temper  —  anything  but  what  a  "cure  of  souls"  ought  to  be.  When  I 
asked  whether  he  ever  mentioned  the  Protestants  the  reply  was  :  "  For  a  long 
time  the  Protestants  have  been  almost  his  only  theme  in  the  pulpit,  and  espe- 
cially so  since  one  eventful  day  some  three  months  ago.  That  day  he  was 
terrible,  and  many  of  the  hearers  were  ashamed  to  listen  to  him.  He  called  the 
Protestants  'the  spawn  of  hell;  and  to  prove  it,'  he  cried,  'look  at  this;'  and 
from  his  gown  he  took  a  little  book  which,  with  livid  face  and  fierce  gestures 
he  shook  in  the  face  of  the  congregation.  '  Worse  than  Satan  they  are,'  he 
cries, '  for  by  some  black  art  they  have  thrust  this  book  upon  me.  And  do  you 
know  where  I  found  it?  On  the  floor  in  the  middle  of  my  own  room  !  I  know 
not  who  put  it  there  nor  how  he  did  it,  but  this  I  tell  you  and  of  this  I  warn  him  : 
once  I  come  to  know  what  Protestant  has  dared  to  pollute  my  room  with  this  I 
will  do  to  him  what  I  now  do  with  it  ! '  and  he  wrenched  the  leaves  from  the 
precious  Gospel,  crushed  them  with  his  hands  and  tore  them  with  his  teeth. 
And  he  added  :  '  If  ever  any  of  you  meet  any  of  these  pests  of  the  earth,  any- 
thing that  you  may  do  to  them,  even  to  the  killing  of  them,  will  be  well  done."- 

Even  the  ignorant  but  good  Catholics  of  his  own  flock  could  understand  that 
these  were  no  words  for  a  Christian  man  to  use  in  a  Christian  pulpit,  and  it  may 
well  be  believed  that  many  said  to  themselves  :  "  Can  any  Protestant  do  worse 
than  this?" 

The  evening  of  my  visit  there,  braving  the  threats  of  the  cura,  twelve  persons, 
honest  citizens  of  the  place,  gathered  around  me  in  the  inn  and  I  read  and 
explained  to  them  the  Scriptures  until  after  midnight.  Though  they  are  very 
poor,  cash  being  very  scarce  in  all  this  district,  they  bought  one  Bible,  two  New 
Testaments,  and  several  Portions.  Several  times  I  have  returned  to  these  two 
villages  where  now  the  gospel  has  won  several  friends,  and  the  cura  has  not  even 
cared  to  meet  me  for  a  gentle  conversation  —  though  he  always  knows  when  I 
am  there  —  much  less  has  he  crushed  me  in  his  grasp  or  torn  me  with  his  teeth. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  sub-mayor  of  this  village  is  my  outspoken  friend  and 
has  bought  from  me  a  Bible  and  several  books,  all  of  which  I  know  he  carefully 
reads.  Both  here  and  in  the  village  of  the  seTwra  I  always  sell  at  least  some 
Portions  of  the  Word  of  Cod  — which  precious  Seed  has  been  watered  to  some 
degree  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

[The  two  cuts  in  ihis  article  are  from  photographs  taken  by  Miss  Hattie  A.  Cutlet. 


HUSINETZ  AND  JOHN   HUSS. 

BY   REV.   A.   W.    CLARK,    D.D.,   PRAGUE,    BOHEMIA. 


The  young  people  who  read  the  Missionary  Herald  have  doubtless  heard  of  the 
celebrated  Bohemian  reformer  and  martyr,  John  Huss.  You  may  be  glad  to 
hear  from  one  of  your  missionaries  something  more  about  Bohemia's  greatest  hero. 
Those  of  you  (and  there  are  many  such  in  Vermont)  who  have  put  at  least  one 
brick  into  the  new  chapel  standing  in  the  garden  where  John  Huss  played  as 
a  boy,  will  be  glad  to  see  a  picture  of  that  "  gospel-home,"  and  of  its  young 
preacher,  Zelinka,  who,  for  the  truth's  sake,  is  now  much  persecuted. 

Let  us  first  visit  the  old  village  of  Husinetz.  It  is  very  pleasantly  situated  in 
Southern  Bohemia  and  was  an  old  town  long  before  Columbus  discovered  America. 
A  more  historic  and  quaint  old  place  it  would  be  hard  to  find.  Its  quaintness  is 
due  partly  to  the  fact  that  until  last  summer  it  was  far  removed  from  all  railroad 
connection  with  the  outside  world.  For  this  and  other  reasons  it  has  preserved 
the  old  customs  as  have  few  places  in  Bohemia.  If  you  never  heard  the  clatter 
of  wooden  shoes,  you  will  be  amused  as  you  walk  the  streets  of  Husinetz. 

But  here  come  the  school  children.  Oh  !  the  racket  of  so  many  little  feet, 
all  in  wooden  shoes  !  What  an  array  of  colored  stockings  :  red,  purple,  and  blue  ! 
How  quaint  the  women  and  children  with  their  short  dresses,  bright  aprons,  and 
the  brighter  kerchiefs  over  their  heads  ! 

Now  we  go  farther  up  the  street  to  the  old  Huss  house  in  which  the  famous 
John  was  born.  It  is  a  small  house  of  stone,  whose  roof  you  may  see  near 
the  centre  of  the  picture  of  Husinetz,  directly  under  the  black  spot.  An  open 
passageway  through  the  house  leads  to  the  garden  and  to  our  chapel.  From  this 
passageway  we  go  up  some  narrow,  steep  stairs  into  the  very  room  where  Huss 
was  born,  in  1369.  It  is  a  small,  low  room  ;  the  floor  is  in  many  places  quite 
worn  away ;  the  walls  are  full  of  cracks.  On  one  side  of  the  room  and  in  the 
wall  are  two  small  shelves  where  the  boy  Huss  kept  his  few  books.  All  the 
surroundings  are  very  commonplace. 

The  great  reformer  took  his  name  from  his  native  village.  This  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  custom  of  that  age.  Huss  in  Bohemian  means  goose,  and  John  Huss 
means  John  from  Goose-town.  When  a  boy  his  quiet  manners  and  quick  intel- 
ligence made  him  a  favorite  in  his  native  village.  To  satisfy  his  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge he  studied  at  the  academy  (gymnasium)  in  neighboring  Prachatitz.  He 
made  rapid  progress  and  was  beloved  by  all  his  teachers.  When  he  had  gradu- 
ated at  the  academy,  his  poor  and  widowed  mother  asked  :  "  What  shall  we  do 
now,  my  son?"  He  replied:  "I  am  going  to  the  Prague  University.  Let  us 
not  be  troubled  on  account  of  poverty.     God  will  care  for  us." 

In  1393  Huss  was  graduated  from  the  Prague  University;  in  1400  he  became 
dean  of  the  theological  faculty,  and  the  following  year  rector  of  the  whole  Univer- 
sity.     Huss  was  upright  in  conduct  and  thoroughly  religious.     He  was  deeply 

348 


Husinetz  and  John  Huss. 


349 


affected  by  the  terrible  corruption  and  vice  which  he  saw  all  around  him  in  the 
papal  church.     He  began  to  preach  with  great  boldness  againstthe  errors  and 

corruption  of    Rome.     "  Christ,"   he  said, 


the  head  of  the  Church,  not  the 


pope."  That  the  people  might  hear  in  their  own  tongue  the  earnest  preaching  of 
the  simple  gospel  without  the  burden  of  mass  and  other  ceremonies,  John  of  Mul- 
heim  founded  "  Bethlehem  chapel  "  in  Prague.  Within  its  walls  for  more  than 
ten  years  the  eloquent  and  faithful  preaching  of  the  great  reformer  was  heard. 
Remember  that  this  was  a  hundred  years  before  Luther. 


35°  Husinctz  and  John  Huss. 

Huss'  earnest  preaching  of  Christ,  and  especially  his  faithful  denunciation  of 
the  sins  of  the  priests,  made  him  many  enemies.  Nearly  200  volumes  relating 
to  Wickliffe  and  his  teachings  were  burned  publicly  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Prague  in  1410.     But  Huss  exclaimed  :  "Fire  does  not  consume  truth." 

At  length  his  bitter  foes  secured  from  the  pope  a  sentence  of  excommunication 
and  he  was  obliged  to  leave  Prague.  But  now  crowds  thronged  to  hear  him 
in  field  and  forest.  At  length,  in  14 14,  the  busy  reformer  consented  to  appear 
before  the  great  Council  at  Constance  (Switzerland).  The  emperor  Sigismund 
gave  him  a  "  Safe-Conduct,"  promising  him  protection  on  his  journey  to  Con- 
stance and  back  again  to  Prague.  The  famous  Council  was  opened  by  the  pope 
in  November,  14 14.  A  brave  Bohemian  knight,  John  of  Chlum,  called  upon 
the  pope  and  begged  to  know  whether  Huss  might  remain  in  Constance  free 
from  risk  of  violence.  Pope  John  XXHI  replied  :  "  Not  a  hair  of  his  head 
should  be  touched  while  he  remained  in  the  city."  But  after  a  few  weeks  of 
restricted  liberty  Huss  was  thrown  into  a  vile  prison  where  he  suffered  for  months. 
The  weak  Sigismund  was  blinded  by  the  foe,  who  declared  that  the  emperor  was 
not  bound  to  keep  his  promise  to  protect  a  heretic. 

Often  this  brave  soul  was  called  before  the  council  and  then  led  back  to  his 
dungeon.  At  last  Huss  and  his  books  were  condemned  to  the  flames.  How 
touching  his  reply,  in  a  brief  prayer :  "  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  pardon  all  mine  ene- 
mies for  the  sake  of  thy  great  mercy.  Thou  knowest  that  they  have  falsely 
accused  me  ;  pardon  them  for  the  sake  of  thine  infinite  mercy." 

After  the  so-called  degradation,  performed  by  seven  bishops,  came  the  final 
words  of  malediction.  "  And  now  the  Church  hath  nothing  more  to  do  with 
thee.  We  give  over  thy  body  to  the  fire,  thy  soul  to  the  devil."  But  Huss 
replied  :  "  Into  thy  hands,  most  merciful  Christ,  I  commend  this  soul  which  thou 
hast  redeemed."  On  his  way  to  the  stake  he  chanted  the  Fifty-first  Psalm. 
Reaching  the  place  of  execution  he  knelt  and  prayed  :  "  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
help  me  to  bear  this  death  of  pain  and  shame,  which  for  thy  name  and  Word's 
sake  I  willingly  encounter.  And  forgive  my  enemies  for  this  their  sin."  As  the 
executioner  was  ready  to  apply  the  torch  two  princes  arrived  from  the  emperor, 
offering  Huss  his  life  if  he  would  only  recant.  He  replied  :  "  I  call  God  to 
witness  that  I  have  not  taught  anything  contrary  to  his  truth.  The  truths  that  I 
have  taught  in  accordance  with  the  Word  of  God  I  will  now  maintain,  and  will- 
ingly seal  with  my  death."  Presently  the  martyr  was  in  flames.  A  voice  was 
heard  from  that  sacred  fire,  a  voice  which  young  and  old  should  repeat ! 
"  Christ,  thou  Son  of  God,  have  mercy  upon  me." 

This  was  on  the  sixth  of  July,  1415,  and  the  anniversary  of  that  eventful 
martyrdom  is  as  much  remembered  at  the  present  time  in  Bohemia  as  is  Wash- 
ington's birthday  in  America.  The  teachings  of  Huss  yielded  rich  fruitage  in  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.  But  at  last  came  the  fatal  battle  of  the  White 
Mountain,  near  Prague,  in  1620.  The  counter-reformation  crushed  out  Protes- 
tantism in  Bohemia.  Two  thirds  of  the  population  were  driven  to  cruel  death 
or  to  exile,  and  for  six  generations  truth  was  compelled  to  hide  her  head. 

But  better  days  have  come.  Among  others  working  for  the  evangelization  of 
Bohemia,  the  American  Board  holds  an  important  place.  In  1880  its  first 
mission  church  was   organized   in  my  dwelling.     Now  there    are   twelve    such 


HusilietZ  and  Joint  I  hiss. 


J5' 


churches  with  many  preaching  stations.     And  now  we  return  to  Husinetz,  the 

youngest  out-station  of  our  mission.  A  town  that  has  furnished  the  world  with 
one  of  the  noblest  reformers  and  martyrs  is  entitled  to  full  knowledge  of  the 
truth  and  of  the  Book  that  made  and  sustained  such  a  man  as  John  Huss.  His 
birthplace  has  been  for  centuries  the  scene  of  spiritual  neglect  and  bigotry. 
To  the  American  board,  and  to  the   Woman's  board,  and,  if  I  may  specify,  then 

to  Connecticut,  to  Vermont,  to  Bennington  and  its  Miss  A.  P ,  belong  the 

honor  of  lighting  again  the  gospel   torch  in  Husinetz.     It  was  from   Bennington 


HUSS  GARDEN  IN  REAR  OF  CHAPEL. 


that  a  telegram  was  flashed  to  Prague  :  "  Buy  garden  and  barn."  The  one  who 
received  that  cable  dispatch  knew  very  well  that  it  pointed  to  the  old  Huss 
garden  and  barn.  The  old  stone  structure  was  in  due  time  enlarged  to  the 
pleasant  chapel  and  home  for  the  preacher  that  you  see  in  the  photo-engraving. 
To  the  right  of  the  open  door  is  the  hall  for  preaching ;  to  the  left  the  future 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  rooms,  and  up  one  flight  of  stairs  is  the  pleasant  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Zelinka,  whom  you  see  in  the  photograph  in  front  of  the  house.  He  was 
trained  for  his  work  by  missionaries  and  helpers  of  the  American  Board  ;  and 
Mrs.  Zelinka  was  assisted  in  her  education  by  the  Woman's  Board.     Not  long 


352 


Hnsitietz  and  John  Hnss. 


ago  there  was  hardly  a  Bible  to  be  found  in  all  Husinetz  ;  now  many  families 
there  are  reading  the  Scriptures.  They  visit  the  Zelinkas  to  learn  more  of  the 
way  of  life.  But  the  highest  political  official  of  the  county  is  very  angry  that  the 
gospel  has  come  back  to  Husinetz,  and  he  has  forbidden  anyone  not  belonging  to 
our  church  to  attend  the  Sunday  services.  A  policeman  with  gun  and  bayonet 
marches  in  front  of  the  home  of  the  Zelinkas  on  Sunday  to  keep  thirsty  souls 
from  hearing,  with  our  eight   members  there,  the  story  of   Christ's  great  love. 


THE    NEW    CHAPEL   AT    HUSINETZ. 


Mrs.  Zelinka  has  a  large  class  of  girls  whom  she  instructs  in  sewing  and  in  Bible 
truth.  For  this  she  has  been  fined  by  the  enraged  "  county  governor."  He 
has  threatened  to  throw  her  into  prison  if  she  does  not  desist,  but  she,  brave 
soul  !  replies  :  "  I  am  quite  ready  to  go  to  prison  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  gospel." 
Placards  on  the  street  corners  warn  people  not  to  visit  the  Zelinkas,  but  such 
opposition  is  leading  numbers  to  inquire,  "What  is  the  message  of  the  gospel?" 
Will  you  not  pray  for  this  land  of  Huss  and  for  those  who  are  hindered  by  gun 
and  bayonet  from  hearing  the  truth  ? 


THER  liANBS. 


TREE    HOUSES    IN    NEW    GUINEA. 


THE  HAYSTACK  MEETING  AND  ITS  OUTCOME. 


In  that  beautiful  Massachusetts  valley,  under  the  shadow  of  Greylock  Moun- 
tain, where  Williams  College  stands,  there  is  a  pleasant  place  of  resort  called 
Mission  Park.  It  incloses  a  grove  of  maples  and  is  adorned  with  trees  and 
shrubs  from  foreign  lands.  It  was  originally  desired  that  there  should  here  be 
a  tree  from  every  missionary  station  upon  the  face  of  the  globe.  On  the  exact 
spot  where  once  a  haystack  stood  now  appears  a  monument  of  the  silver-blue 
Berkshire  marble,  inscribed  with 
these  words  :  "  The  Birthplace 
of  American  Foreign  Missions." 
Here  it  was  that  in  1806  was  in- 
augurated the  first  "  Student  Vol- 
unteer Movement." 

At  that  time  several  of  the 
students  of  Williams  College  were 
accustomed  to  meet  for  prayer 
and  Christian  conversation,  and 
it  was  at  the  close  of  a  sultry 
afternoon  in  July  or  August  — 
the  precise  day  is  not  known  — 
that  five  young  men,  a  smaller 
number  than  usual,  gathered  in 
the  cool  shade  of  the  maple  grove 
for  this  purpose.  Their  names 
were  Samuel  J.  Mills,  James 
Richards,  Francis  L.  Robbins, 
Harvey  Loomis,  and  Byram 
Green.  In  1854,  forty-eight 
years  afterwards,  Byram  Green  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

"We  first  went  to  the  grove  expecting  to  hold  our  prayer-meeting  there,  but 
a  dark  cloud  was  rising  in  the  west  and  it  soon  began  to  thunder  and  lighten, 
and  we  left  the  grove  and  went  under  the  haystack  to  protect  us  from  the 
approaching  storm. 

"  The  subject  of  conversation  under  the  stack,  before  and  during  the  shower, 
was  the  moral  darkness  of  Asia.  Mills  proposed  to  send  the  gospel  to  that  dark 
and  heathen  land,  and  said  that  we  could  do  it  if  we  would.    We  were  all  agreed 


A  SCENE    NEAR    WILLIAMSTOWN. 


356 


The  Haystack  Meeting  and  its  Outcome. 


and  delighted  with  the  idea  except  Loomis,  who  contended  that  it  was  prema- 
ture ;  that  if  missionaries  should  be  sent  to  Asia  they  would  be  murdered ;  that 
Christian  armies  must  subdue  the  country  before  the  gospel  could  be  sent  to  the 
Turks  and  Arabs.  In  reply  to  Loomis  it  was  said  that  God  was  always  willing 
to  have  his  gospel  spread  throughout  the  world,  and  that  if  the  Christian  public 
was  willing  and  active  the  work  would  be  done ;  that  on  this  subject  the  Roman 
adage  would  be  true,  '  Vox  populi,  vox  Dei.' 

" '  Come,'  said  Mills,  '  let  us  make  it  a  subject  of  prayer  under  this  haystack, 
while  the  dark  clouds  are  going  and  the  clear  sky  is  coming.'  We  all  prayed 
and  made  Foreign  Missions  a  subject  in  our  prayers,  except  Loomis.  Mills  made 
the  last  prayer  and  was  in  some  degree  enthusiastic ;  he  prayed  that  God  would 
strike  down  the  arm  with  the  red  artillery  of  heaven  that  should  be  raised  against 
a  herald  of  the  cross." 

These  prayer-meetings  were  continued  in  the  grove  near  by  until  cold  weather, 
when  a  good  lady  gave  leave  for  the  students  to  meet  in  her  kitchen.  After  a 
time  she  asked  that  the  door  might  be  left  ajar  into  her  sitting-room,  that  she 
might  listen,  and  later  on  she  opened  the  sitting-room  itself,  and  there  this  meet- 
ing was  continued  for  at  least  forty  years. 

It  is  interesting  to  learn  that  the  Harvey  Loomis,  who  was  the  only  one  of  the 

five  that  opposed  the  project  of  un- 
dertaking foreign  missions,  did  not  do 
so  because  of  want  of  Christian  char- 
acter or  life,  for  he  was  known  after- 
ward as  a  man  of  eminent  piety  and  a 
faithful  minister.  The  ideas  which  he 
expressed  only  represent  the  feeling  of 
the  times.  Those  who  had  any  con- 
victions as  to  the  duty  of  sending  the 
gospel  to  the  heathen  were  the  rare 
exception.  Some  deemed  the  project 
chimerical,  while  the  great  mass  of 
Christians  had  apparently  given  little 
thought  to  the  matter.  What  makes 
the  zeal  of  the  young  men  at  the  hay- 
stack so  remarkable  is  the  fact  that  it  originated  and  became  most  intense  in  the 
midst  of  prevailing  apathy. 

Although  the  story  of  the  haystack  meeting  was  well  known,  the  precise  spot 
where  it  was  held  was  not  known  until  1854,  when  the  only  survivor,  the  Hon. 
Byram  Green,  identified  the  place.  Two  years  before,  a  stranger  passing  through 
Williamstown  had  been  deeply  impressed  by  the  faith  and  zeal  of  the  students 
at  the  haystack,  and  he  sent  back  a  gold  dollar,  saying  that  it  would  at  least  pur- 
chase a  cedar  stake  to  mark  the  spot,  and  prophesying  that  it  would  some  time  be 
marked  by  marble.  In  1857  this  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  and  the  cedar  stake 
became  marble  through  the  generosity  of  an  alumnus  of  the  college.  President 
Hopkins  said  in  his  address  at  the  dedication,  "  For  once  in  the  history  of  the 
world  a  prayer-meeting  has  been  commemorated  by  a  monument." 

The  missionary  enthusiasm  of  those  devoted  young  men  found  expression  two 


WEST   COLLEGE    (IN    WHICH    MILLS    ROOMED). 


Tin-  Haystack  Met  ting  and  its  Outcome. 


357 


years  later  in  the  formation  of  the  first  foreign  missionary  society  in  this  country, 

"a  society  not  for  the  purpose  of  sending  others,  but  of  NG  to  the  heathen." 

The  following  constitution  was  adopted  :  — 

i.  The  object  of  this  Society  shall  be  to  effect  in  the  person  of  its  members 
a  mission  to  the  heathen. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  admitted  to  its  membership  who  is  under  an  engage- 
ment of  any  kind  which  shall  be  incompatible  with  going  on  a  mission  to  the 
heathen. 

3.  Each  member  shall  keep  absolutely  free  from  every  engagement  which  after 
his  prayerful  attention  and  after  consultation  with  his  brethren  shall  be  deemed 
incompatible  with  the  objects  of  this  Society,  and  shall  hold  himself  ready  to  go 
on  a  mission  when  and  where  duty  may  call. 


THE    MISSION    PARK    AND    MONUMENT    WHEN    DEDICATED    IN    1867. 


This  constitution  has  been  modified,  but  the  society  still  exists,  though  trans- 
ferred to  Andover  Seminary.  Messengers  were  early  sent  to  other  colleges  to 
stir  up  a  similar  spirit  in  them.  Mills  wrote  with  glowing  enthusiasm:  "The 
field  is  almost  boundless.  In  the  language  of  an  eminent  writer,  '  Oh  that  we 
could  enter  at  a  thousand  gates,  that  every  limb  were  a  tongue  and  every  tongue 


358 


The  Haystack  Meeting  and  its  Outcome. 


a  trumpet  to  spread  the  joyful  sound  ! '  The  camp  is  in  motion,  the  Levites,  we 
trust,  are  about  to  bear  the  vessels  and  the  Great  Commander  to  say,  Go  for- 
ward. Let  us  rely  with  the  most  impartial  confidence  on  those  great,  eternal, 
precious  promises  contained  in  the  Word  of  God,  Mark  10  :  29." 

After  this  society  of  "  The  Brethren,"  who  had  pledged  themselves  for  service 
in  the  foreign  field,  was  transferred  to  Andover  Seminary,  Adoniram  Judson  joined 
it,  and  Judson,  Mills,  and  Gordon  Hall  were  the  leading  spirits  among  the  students 
in  making  the  appeal  to  the  General  Association  of  Massachusetts  in  18 10,  for 
counsel  and  support  in  their  plan  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  benighted.  Their 
zeal  and  devotion  impressed  the  General  Association  so  deeply  that,  though 
there  were  many  who,  like  Loomis  at  the  haystack,  thought  the  scheme  imprac- 
ticable, steps  were  there  taken  for  the  organization  of  the  American  Board. 

Only  two  of  the  men  of  the  haystack  meeting  were  permitted  to  set  forth 
upon  foreign  missionary  service.  Mills  died  near  the  shores  of  Africa,  and  Rich- 
ards in  Ceylon.     Were  their  life  and  death  a  disappointment?     On  his  dying  bed 


MAIN    STREET,   WILLIAMSTOWN. 


Richards  said,  his  face  beaming  with  celestial  radiance,  "  I  have  sometimes  had 
as  much  joy  in  praising  God  here  as  this  poor  body  could  bear;  yes,  as  much  as 
this  poor  body  could  bear ;  but  when  I  see  Jesus,  then  I  shall  sing,  oh,  then  I 
shall  sing  ! "     His  last  words  were,  "  Oh,  what  glories  I  see!  " 

The  movement  begun  at  the  haystack  unquestionably  led  to  the  organization 
of  the  American  Board  and  so  to  world-wide  plans  for  the  extension  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  It  is  said  that  before  that  prayer- meeting  closed  the  storm 
subsided  and  a  bright  rainbow  appeared  in  the  east.  The  success  which  has 
crowned  the  prayers  and  labors  of  those  young  men  during  ninety  years  was  fitly 
symbolized  by  the  bow  which  spanned  the  heavens  as  they  left  the  sacred  spot. 


KEOPUOLANI.  QUEEN  AND  CHRISTIAN, 


When  our  American  missionaries  first  landed  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  1820, 
they  found  the  people  without  any  religion.  The  very  year  before,  the  high- 
priest  of  Hawaii  had  expressed  his  wish  to  give  up  their  system  of  idolatry. 
The  chiefs  had  confessed  their  dissatisfaction  with  it,  and  it  had  been  abolished 
by  general  consent.  It  was  a  set  of  senseless  and  cruel  practices,  the  most 
inconvenient  and  annoying  of  which  was  the  tabu,  ox  prohibition.  For  instance, 
at  certain  times  nobody  except  a  priest  or  a  chief  must  presume  to  eat  a  cocoanut, 
no  fishing-canoe  must  be  seen  in  the  water,  nor  any  man  out  of  his  house  ;  men 
and  women  must  not  eat  together,  nor  even  from  the  same  dish.  The  penalty 
for  breaking  tabu  was  death.  Human  sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  gods,  and 
when  no  criminal  could  be  found,  a  new  tabu  was  imposed  ;  and  perhaps  it  was 
done  secretly,  so  that  some  one  might  break  it  unawares.  Men  on  the  watch 
would  then  seize  the  victim  and  hurry  him  away  to  be  slain  at  the  idol-shrine. 
A  foreign  resident  told  the  missionaries  that  on  one  of  the  days  of  prohibition  he 
"  saw  a  canoe  sailing  out  in  front  of  some  houses  on  the  shore  and  upset  by  the 
surf.  One  of  the  men  afterward  appeared  to  be  drowning.  An  old  man  of 
tender  feelings  sprang  from  his  house  to  save  the  sinking  man.  In  an  instant  he 
was  seized  by  the  servants  of  the  priests,  hurried  to  the  idol-temple,  and  there 
sacrificed.  Meantime,  the  man  apparently  drowning  jumped  into  his  canoe  and 
rowed  away." 

In  that  entangling  network  of  observances  a  prominent  part  was  a  superstitious 
reverence  for  the  persons  of  the  chiefs.  Queen  Keopuolani  was  the  mother  of 
the  king  reigning  over  the  islands  at  the  time  when  our  missionaries  arrived. 
She  had  always  been  considered  particularly  sacred.  Her  family  had  governed 
the  island  of  Hawaii  for  many  generations.  She  was  herself  born  in  1778,  —  the 
year  after  Captain  Cook  was  murdered  there,  —  and  was  brought  up  by  her 
grandmother,  as  it  was  not  customary  for  chiefs  to  bring  up  their  own  children. 
From  her  birth  she  had  a  train  of  attendants  wherever  she  went :  a  nurse,  a  man 
carrying  a  fly-brush,  another  man  a  fan,  another  an  umbrella,  and  another  a  pipe  ; 
besides  a  great  company  of  other  servants,  all  of  whom  anxiously  waited  the  nod 
of  the  child.  When  she  was  twelve  years  old  she  had  become  a  celebrated 
beauty.  At  that  time  Kamehameha,  a  warlike  chief  who  had  made  himself  king 
of  all  the  ten  islands,  took  her  captive,  and  afterward  made  her  his  queen.  She 
reigned  with  him  from  1791  until  his  death,  in  1S19.  In  her  childhood  she  had 
been  held  so  sacred  that  a  part  of  the  time  no  one  must  see  her.  She  never 
walked  out  except  at  evening,  and  then  every  one  who  looked  at  her  prostrated 
himself  to  the  earth.     As  queen,  she  went  with  her  husband  into  all  his  battles, 

3-9 


360 


Keopuolani,  Queen  and  Christian. 


'  i  — — — 


Keopuolanix  Queen  and  (  hristian. 

because  her  sacred  presence  did  much  to  awe  the  enemy.  At  one  time  ten  men 
were  bound,  in  order  to  be  slain  at  the  idol-temple,  because  she  was  sick.  She 
rallied  quickly,  and  only  three  were  really  put  to  death. 

According  to  the  heathen  custom,  Keopuolani  had  three  husbands,  so  that  she 
was  not  left  alone  at  the  kind's  death.  Her  son  Riho-riho  became  king,  hut  she- 
was  still  high  in  authority.  Riho-riho  had  reigned  a  year  when  the  missionaries 
appeared  at  the  islands.  They  had  left  America  without  knowing  anything  about 
the  wonderful  way  in  which  God  had  prepared  for  their  coming.  They  were 
kindly  welcomed,  as  there  were  now  no  idol-worshipers  to  oppose  them. 
Keopuolani  was  friendly,  but  it  was  two  years  before  she  devoted  herself  to 
learning  the  truth.  She  then  asked  to  have  a  teacher  to  remain  with  her  house- 
hold, and  soon  accepted  the  good  news  of  a  Saviour,  with  the  simplicity  of  a 
child.  A  high  chief  to  whom  she  was  greatly  attached  tried  to  hinder  her, 
saying,  "  Let  us  two  drink  wine  together  again,  as  formerly.  Enough  of  this 
new  word.  Let  us  cast  it  away  and  attend  to  it  no  more."  But  Keopuolani 
turned  to  her  teacher  and  said  :  "  My  heart  is  much  afraid  I  shall  never  be  a 
Christian."  He  replied  :  "  Why,  what  is  in  the  way?  Do  you  not  love  God?" 
She  answered  :  "  Oh,  yes  !  I  love  —  I  love  him  very  much."  The  teacher  then 
explained  more  fully  the  way  of  salvation,  and  Keopuolani  said,  at  the  close  of 
the  conversation  :  "  Your  word,  I  know,  is  true.  It  is  a  good  word,  and  now 
I  have  found,  I  have  obtained  a  Saviour  and  a  good  King,  Jesus  Christ." 

She  soon  asked  her  teacher  what  she  should  do  about  her  two  husbands.  He 
told  her  that  Christian  women  never  have  more  than  one  husband.  She  said  : 
"  I  have  followed  the  custom  of  my  country,  but  we  have  been  a  people  of  dark 
hearts.  I  wish  now  to  obey  Jesus  Christ  and  to  walk  in  the  good  way.  Hoapiri 
is  my  husband  —  my  only  husband.  The  other  man  I  will  now  cast  off."  She 
then  called  him  and  said  :  "  I  have  renounced  our  old  religion —  the  religion  of 
wooden  gods.  I  have  embraced  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  my  King 
and  Saviour,  and  him  I  desire  to  obey.  Hereafter  I  must  have  one  husband 
only.  I  wish  you  to  live  with  me  no  longer.  In  future  you  must  neither  eat 
with  my  people  nor  lodge  in  my  house." 

So  decided  was  her  stand  in  favor  of  Christianity  that  many  of  the  chiefs  and 
people  were  displeased.  "  The  new  teachers  are  not  good,"  said  they  ;  "  they 
bind  us  too  close."  "  Our  old  religion  is  good  for  nothing,"  replied  Keopuolani. 
"  The  missionaries'  ways  are  all  good  and  ours  are  bad.  I  will  follow  their 
instructions,  and  will  never  again  take  my  dark  heart." 

The  chiefs  argued  with  her.  "  We  find,"  they  said,  "  that  a  part  of  what  the 
missionaries  tell  us  is  true.  It  is  well  to  attend  to  reading  and  writing;  but 
prayer  and  preaching  and  Sabbaths  are  of  no  consequence.  These  will  never 
increase  our  riches." 

Keopuolani  answered  them  with  spirit :  "  If  you  wish  to  be  heathens  and  live 
like  the  people  of  Satan,  then  live  so,  and  give  up  the  Sabbath  and  prayer,  and 
when  you  die  go  to  Satan  and  the  world  of  misery ;  but  trouble  me  no  longer." 
She  showed  constant  attention  and  kindness  to  the  missionaries,  seeking  and 
obeying  their  instructions  as  to  prayer  and  Christian  duty,  and  ripening  fast  for 
the  world  of  light,  whither  she  was  soon  to  go.     She  became  slightly  ill,  and 


362 


Keopuolani,  Queen  and  Christian. 


vessels  were  sent  to  all  the  islands,  that  the  chiefs  might  gather,  according  to 
their  custom,  and  wait  the  result.  The  missionaries  came  too,  and  Keopuolani 
received  them  with  a  smile,  saying,  "  I  love  the  great  God.  I  love  Jesus  Christ. 
I  have  given  myself  to  him  to  be  his.  When  I  die,  let  none  of  the  evil  customs 
of  this  country  be  practised ;  let  not  my  body  be  disturbed.  Let  my  burial  be 
after  the  manner  of  Christ's  people.  I  hope  he  has  loved  me  and  will 
receive  me." 

As  she  grew  worse,  the  king  —  her  son  —  desired  that  she  should  be  baptized, 
saying,  "  I  know  that  this  is  only  an  external  sign,  but  my  mother  gave  herself 
away  to  Christ  before  her  sickness."  She,  too,  requested  it ;  and  when  it  was 
done,  the  king  said  :  "  Surely,  she  is  no  longer  ours.  .  .  .  We  believe  she  is 
Christ's,  and  will  go  to  dwell  with  him." 


WAILING    SCENE    AT   THE    DEATH    OF    KEOPUOLANI. 


Keopuolani  was  the  first  Hawaiian  convert  who  received  this  sacred  rite,  and 
an  hour  after  it  was  administered  she  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  It  was  the  sixteenth 
of  September,  1823.  The  people  collected  from  every  quarter  to  join  their  tears 
and  cries.  Over  three  thousand  —  some  said  five  thousand — people  assembled 
at  the  funeral,  and  ceased  their  wailing  while  a  Christian  service  was  conducted. 
They  listened  with  deep  interest  while  Rev.  Mr.  Ellis  preached  from  the  words  : 
"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord."  Blessed,  indeed,  was  Keopuolani, 
the  first-fruits  of  Hawaii  unto  Christ. 

1  The  above  cut  is  a  reproduction  from  a  picture  in  a  "  Memoir  of  Keopuolani,"  in  pamphlet  form,  published  by 
the  American  Board  in  1825.  It  presents  the  scene  at  the  meeting  of  Kuakini,  Governor  of  Hawaii,  and  the  relatives 
of  Queen  Keopuolani,  just  after  her  death.  The  figures  indicate  several  prominent  persons:  (1)  Kuakini; 
(2)  Hoapiri,  husband  of  the  queen;    (3)  Prince  Kanikeouli;   (4)  Prince  Nahienaena. 


HOW   THE   GOSPEL   REACHED   SAMOA. 


It  was  in  1830  that  Mr.  John  Williams,  that  noble  English  missionary  and 
"  Polynesian  apostle  "  who  had  already  spent  eleven  years  in  the  Society  [stands, 
accomplishing  wonders  in  the  civilizing  and  Christianizing  of  the  people,  reached 
the  Samoan  group,  known  to  be  populated  by  fierce  cannibals.  He  came  in  his 
own  ship,  the  Messenger  of  Peace.  He  had  himself  built  this  vessel  of  seventy 
tons  burthen  at  the  island  of  Rarotongo,  with  only  native  help  and  with  few  tools 
except  those  of  his  own  making.      He  was  impelled  by  an  intense  desire  to 


•>. 


-:  r^m 


THE    HARBOR    OF  PAGO-PAGO,   TUTUILA,    SAMOA. 


carry  to  the  westward  islands  that  glorious  gospel  by  which  he  had  seen  so 
many  savage  tribes  transformed  into  happy,  industrious,  and  orderly  Christian 
communities. 

Mr.  Williams  was  accompanied  by  his  brother  missionary,  Mr.  Barff,  and  by 
eight  Society  Islanders  whom  they  had  trained  as  teachers.  Touching  at  the 
Friendly  Islands  mission  they  found  and  took  on  board  a  Samoan  chief  named 
Fauea,  who  had  become  a  Christian  there,  and  who  proved  a  great  assistance 
to  them.  As  their  ship  approached  Samoa,  the  towering  mountains  of  Savaii, 
one  of  the  largest  islands,  were  seen  seventy  miles  away.  On  arriving  there 
they  were  surprised  and  delighted  with  the  magnificence  of  the  scenery,  with 

363 


364 


How  the  Gospel  Reached  Samoa. 


the  welcome  given  them  and  the  joy  of  the  people  at  the  coming  of  teachers. 
Fauea  eloquently  proclaimed  the  praises  of  the  missionaries  and  the  excellence 
of  their  religion.  Natives  had  brought  off  to  the  ship  articles  of  barter,  but 
on  hearing  these  things,  they  covered  the  deck  with  produce  and  resolutely 
refused  to  take  payment.  Multitudes  crowded  the  beach,  and  as  it  was  after 
sunset  when  a  landing  was  effected,  they  literally  carried  the  missionaries  to 
the  chiefs  house,  long  lines  of  flaming  torches  lighting  the  way.  A  song  in 
their  honor  was  quickly  composed  and  sung  in  full  chorus  by  all  the  people. 
The  cut  below  represents  a  Samoan  Fale-tele,  or  council-house,  such  as 
used  to  be  found  in  every  village.  Some  of  them  were  of  large  dimensions, 
built  of  wood  and  thatched  with  sugar-cane  or  pandanus  leaves.  These  houses 
are  very  ingeniously  constructed,  no  nails  being  used  about  them,  the  fastenings 
being  made  with  the  fibre  of  the  cocoanut.  In  these  houses  all  strangers  were 
received,  and  the  population  of  the  village  used  to  gather  here  in  the  evening  for 
their  dances  and  various  games. 


'>T^\ 


A    SAMOAN    FALE-TELE,    OR    COUNCIL- HOUSE. 


Mr.  Williams  found  the  Samoans  neither  tall  nor  muscular,  but  very  agile  and 
graceful.  "  Picture  to  yourself,"  he  says,  "  a  fine,  well-grown  Indian,  with  a 
dark,  sparkling  eye,  a  smooth  skin  glistening  with  sweet-scented  oil,  and  tastefully 
tattooed  from  the  hips  to  the  knees ;  with  a  bandage  of  red  leaves,  a  headdress 
of  the  nautilus  shell,  and  a  string  of  small  white  shells  around  each  arm,  and 
you  have  a  Samoan  gentleman  in  full  dress  ;  and  thus  dressed,  he  thinks  as  much  of 
himself  and  the  ladies  think  as  much  of  him  as  would  be  the  case  with  an  English 
beau  fitted  out  in  the  highest  style  of  fashion." 

They  had  no  priests,  temples,  idols,  or  sacrifices,  but  deified  beasts,  birds,  and 
fishes.  A  convenient  building  was  given  by  the  chief  as  a  church  and  school- 
house,  with  four  good  dwellings  for  the  native  missionaries.  In  three  days  the 
Messenger  of  Peace  sailed  away,  the  Englishmen  promising  to  return  in  nine  or 
ten  months.  All  the  people  escorted  them  to  the  shore,  rending  the  air  with  the 
cry,  "  Great  is  our  affection  for  you,  English  chiefs  !  " 

It  was  not  until  two  years  later,  in  October,  1832,  that  the  ship  could  again 
sail  for  Samoa.  All  things  favored,  and  after  six  days'  delightful  voyage  they 
sighted  Manua,  the  most  easterly  island  of  the   Samoan  group.     As  it  was  two 


How  the  Gospel  Reached  Samoa. 


365 


hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  teacher's  residence,  Mr.  Williams  wa    jready 

surprised  to  hear  the  first  islanders  who  boarded  the  Bhip  exclaim,  ■■  w 

sons  of  the  Word."      His  joy  increased  when  they  told   him  that  great  numbers 

of    the    people     of 

Savaii  and  Upolu  had 

received     the     truth. 

As  he  sailed  on  from 

island    to    island     he  „ 

became    convinced 

that    a   mighty   work 

had     already     been 

done     throughout 

Samoa.      At    Savaii 

the    teachers    wel- 
comed him  with  tears 

and    shouts    of    joy. 

They  had  a  story  to 

tell   of  mingled   sor-  ^g 

row  and  success.     At 

first    war    had    raged 

between  two  islands, 

but  the  teachers  had 

always    been    kindly       | 

cared  for,  and  chief 
after  chief  had  ceased 
fighting  and  re- 
nounced his  super- 
stitions. After  a  time 
they  determined  to 
drown  Papo,  their 
war-god,  the  only 
semblance  of  an  idol 

found  in  Samoa.  This  created  immense  excitement.  Chiefs  from  a  distance 
were  constantly  coming  to  learn  what  these  things  meant.  Many  of  them 
came  regularly,  learning  all  they  could  carry  away  of  the  new  truth  and  taking 
it  home  to  their  people.  The  converts  had  withstood  persecution.  One 
Christian  chief,  when  threatened,  said  of  his  enemies  :  «  I  shall  not  move  from 
my  house  to  attack  them.  But  if  they  begin,  I  will  pray  for  the  help  ot  Jehovah 
and  resist  them  with  all  my  strength." 

Mr.  Williams  found,  besides  these  avowed  Christians,  a  multitude  who  had 
been  only  waiting  for  his  return  to  publicly  renounce  their  superstitions.  He 
visited  every  island,  preaching  to  great  audiences,  and  was  everywhere  joyously 
welcomed.  The  king  of  Samoa  now  openly  embraced  Christianity.  His  name 
was  Malietoa,  which  is  the  family  name  of  several  Samoan  kings.  It  was  the 
grandson  of  this  very  Malietoa,  known  by  .the  name  of  Malietoa  Laupepa, 
and  himself  a  Christian  ruler,  who  in  1887  was  forcibly  taken  from  his  country 
and  carried  to  Africa  by  the  Germans. 


3* 

MALIETOA,    KING    OF   SAMOA    IN    1839. 


366 


How  the  Gospel  Reached  Samoa. 


After  thus  instructing  and  confirming  the  believers,  Mr.  Williams  again  bade 
them  farewell.  It  was  not  until  1838  that  he  saw  Samoa  again,  though  English 
missionaries  had  meanwhile  been  sent  there.  Mr.  Williams  had  visited  England, 
had  secured  a  fine  missionary  ship,  and  had  brought  with  him  a  missionary  band. 
"As  we  neared  Apia,  the  harbor  of  Upolu,"  wrote  Mr.  Williams,  "we  sailed 
along  the  coast  of  that  noble  island  and  every  few  miles  we  recognized  large 
places  of  worship,  white  as  snow,  smiling  a  welcome  to  us  through  the  dark, 
rich  foliage  in  which  they  were  embowered.  .  .  „  The  whole  group  has  a 
population  of  sixty  or  seventy  thousand,  and  about  fifty  thousand  are  under 
instruction.  The  desire  for  missionaries  is  intense.  If  we  had  twenty  instead 
of  three,  all  would  have  been  readily  disposed  of."  Thousands  of  copies  of 
Matthew's  Gospel  and  many  elementary  books  were  in  print,  and  the  people 
could  read  them  fluently.      Fighting  had  entirely  ceased. 

Mr.  Williams  decided  to  make  his  headquarters  here  and  thence  to  visit  the 
islands  already  Christianized,  and  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the   New  Hebrides. 


SAMOAN    DUCK-DUCK    DANCERS. 


Alas  !  his  first  venture  to  the  latter  islands  resulted  in  his  death  at  Erromango 
at  the  hands  of  cannibals.  But  his  work  went  on.  Commodore  Wilkes,  of  the 
United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  who  visited  Samoa  in  1839,  speaks  of  the 
wonderful  effect  produced  by  missionary  instruction  and  says  "  it  appears  almost 
miraculous."  This  naval  officer  bears  witness  that  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the 
missionary  work  was  the  presence  on  the  islands  of  a  few  abandoned  white  men. 
The  fantastic  figures  above,  from  a  cut  in  the  English  Messenger  for  the  Chil- 
dren, represent  the  Samoan  dancers,  corresponding  to  the  African  "  witch  doc- 
tors." Men  thus  masked  executed  a  rude  kind  of  justice,  punishing  a  criminal 
or  taking  from  a  thief  his  unlawful  gains  and  restoring  them  to  the  rightful 
owner.  We  may  suppose  that  the  fear  inspired  by  their  startling  appearance 
secured  submission. 


/  a->- 


i*aas 


■Wi'i; 


:''^L 


-1        ^ 


% 


HENRY  MARTYN :  SCHOLAR,  SAINT,  AND  MISSIONARY. 


The  bearer  of  this  illustrious  title  was  the  leader  of  a  noble  army  of  heroes 
and  of  martyrs  for  the  faith  who  have  been  stirred  by  his  example  and  have 
followed  in  his  steps.  Attention  has  recently  been  recalled  to  him  whose  name 
was  a  household  word  to  an  earlier  generation  by  an  admirable  biography,  by  I  >r. 
George  Smith,  issued  by  the  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  to  whose  kindness  we 
are  indebted  for  the  use  of  the  cuts  in  this  article. 


PAGODA,  ALDEEN  HOUSE. 

This  beloved  man  was  born  in  1 781,  in  Truro,  county  of  Cornwall,  England, 
and  was  at  seven  years  of  age  a  clever,  careless  boy,  of  delicate  constitution.  At 
sixteen  he  entered  college  at  Cambridge;  a  restless,  brilliant,  irritable  youth, 
with  an  uneasy  conscience  which  provoked  him  to  sudden  bursts  of  passion. 
At  nineteen,  under  the  shadow  of  his  father's  death  and  through  the  influence 
of  faithful  fellow-students,  he  began,  as  he  said,  "  to  consider  that  invisible  world 
to  which  I  must  one  day  go.  I  began  to  attend  more  diligently  to  the  words  of 
our  Saviour  in  the  New  Testament  and  to  devour  them  with  delight."     All  the 


368 


Henry  Martyn  :  Scholar,  Saint,  and  Missionary. 


longings  of  his  impulsive  nature  now  found  rest  and  satisfaction  in  the  living, 
reigning,  personal  Christ.  At  the  same  time,  calmed  and  steadied  by  his  new 
faith,  he  won  great  distinction  as  a  student  and  came  out  as  Senior  Wrangler 
before  he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  The  next  year,  1801,  saw  him  Fellow  of  his 
College,  and  winner  of  a  University  Latin  Prize,  and  also  witnessed  his  resolve  to 
renounce  the  study  of  law,  to  which  he  had  looked  forward,  and  became  a  mis- 
sionary of  Christ.  His  pastor,  Rev.  Charles  Simeon,  secured  his  appointment  to 
the  Bengal  Chaplaincy  to  the  East  India  Company,  and  a  sympathizing  circle  of 
college  friends  cheered  him  on.  William  Carey  had  then  been  nine  years  in 
India,  and  from  the  moment  that  Henry  Martyn's  attention  was  called  to  his 
work,  his  own  thoughts  had  centred  about  the  far  East. 

As  he  was  not  yet  of  the  required  age,  he  spent  two  years  in  the  home  duties 
of  a  curate,  and  during  this  time  he  suffered  a  severe  discipline  of  alternate  hope 


SHIRAZ. 


and  fear  in  regard  to  Lydia  Grenfell,  the  lady  whom  he  loved  and  whose  heart 
was  truly  given  to  him.  The  pathetic  story  of  their  struggle  with  obstacles  — 
which  at  present  seem  unreal  —  to  their  greater  usefulness  and  to  their  happiness 
is  now  for  the  first  time  fully  told.  However  unnecessary  this  heartbreak  of 
separation  may  have  been,  being  borne  by  both  in  a  very  passion  of  submission 
and  trust,  and  in  the  comfort  of  their  fellowship  with  Christ,  it  wrought  out  last- 
ing results  of  holy  character  in  the  sufferers. 

Martyn  was  twenty-four  when  he  sailed,  in  1805,  on  his  nine  months'  voyage 
to  India,  with  an  English  fleet.  Of  a  regiment  of  soldiers  with  their  officers 
and  of  all  the  East  India  cadets  on  board  his  ship,  only  five  would  join  in  his 
daily  worship,  and  from  the  rest  he  endured  a  blasphemous  opposition.  He  fed 
his  splendid  courage  with  Bible  truth,  and  worked  hard  at  the  Hindu,  Bengali. 
and  Portuguese  languages,  which  he  was  to  use.  From  Madura  he  wrote  to  Miss 
Grenfell's  sister  :  "  God  knows  how  dearly  I  love  you  and  Lydia  and  Sally,  and 
all  his  saints  in  England,  yet  I  bid  you  an  everlasting  farewell  almost  without  a 
sigh." 


Henry  Marty n:  Scholar,  Saint,  mid  Missionary 


369 


On  the  voyage  out,  the  captains  of  the  fleet  were  informed  that  the  object  of 
the  expedition  was  the  (ape  Colony  and  that  a  stout  resistance  was  expected 
from  the  Dutch,  who  had  then  misgoverned  South  Africa  for  nearly  150  years. 
Thus  Henry  Martyn  became  a  witness  of  the  battles  which  gave  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  to  British  rule  and  made  it  the  base  from  which  Christian  Missions 
have  slowly  spread  northward  toward  the  heart  of  the  continent. 


Landing  at  Calcutta  in  May,  1806,  Martyn  first  sought  out  Mr.  Carey,  who,  in 
his  delight  with  him,  declared  that  wherever  Martyn  went  no  other  missionary 
would  be  needed.  While  waiting  five  months  for  his  appointment  to  his  first 
military  station,  he  preached  on  Sundays  in  Calcutta  and  studied  through  the 
weekdays  at  Serampore,  residing  at  Aldeen  House,  in  the  family  of  Rev.  David 
Brown.  In  the  garden  still  stands  the  ancient  idol  temple  in  which  Martyn 
lived,  the  picture  of  which  we  give  on  a  previous  page,  and  which  has  ever  since 
been  known  as  "  Henry  Martyn's  Pagoda." 


370  Henry  Martyn:  Scholar,  Saint,  and  Missionary. 

His  special  object  was  to  give  the  gospel  message  to  Mohammedans,  and  he 
devoted  his  fine  linguistic  powers  to  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Hindustani, 
Persian,  and  Arabic  for  their  use.  At  last  his  appointment  came ;  it  was  to 
Dinapore.  There,  and  at  Patna  and  Cawnpore,  he  faithfully  performed  the 
duties  of  his  chaplaincy  during  the  four  following  years,  from  1806  to  18 10,  all 
the  while  translating,  and  declaring  the  gospel  truth  to  the  natives  with  incessant 
industry  and  zeal.  To  Mrs.  Sherwood,  an  English  officer's  wife,  we  owe  most  of 
the  outside  knowledge  we  have  of  this  period  of  Martyn's  life.  She  pictures 
him  thus  :  ".  His  features  were  not  regular,  but  the  expression  was  so  luminous, 
so  intellectual,  so  affectionate,  so  beaming  with  divine  charity,  that  no  one  could 
have  thought  of  his  features  —  the  outbeaming  of  his  soul  would  absorb  the 
attention.  He  had  a  rich,  deep  voice  and  a  fine  taste  for  music.  There  was  a 
very  decided  air,  too,  of  the  gentleman  and  a  perfection  of  manners ;  he  was  as 
remarkable  for  ease  as  for  cheerfulness,  and  he  was  one  of  the  humblest  of  men." 
He  lived  with  his  Arab  and  Indian  language  teachers  ;  the  former  of  whom  was 
a  wild  man  of  the  desert,  so  that  Martyn  describes  himself  as  "  the  keeper  of 
a  lunatic,"  and  was  ever  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  natives,  beggars  and  ascetics, 
to  whom  he  "  preached  wonderfully."  He  finished  the  Hindustani  New  Testa- 
ment in  1807.  Toil  such  as  this  soon  wasted  his  strength;  he  was  supported 
under  it,  he  said,  by  a  daily  miracle.  Often  he  entered  the  Sherwood  home  and 
sank  down  almost  fainting  with  exhaustion  and  with  the  raging  heat.  He  lost 
the  use  of  his  voice  for  public  speaking,  but  could  still  translate  and  converse. 
At  length  even  this  brought  on  pain  in  the  chest,  and  he  left  India  in  January, 
181 1,  for  Arabia  and  Persia,  there  to  employ  his  enforced  silence  upon  the  Per- 
sian New  Testament.  He  lived  nearly  a  year  in  Shiraz,  and  through  him  the 
gospel  first  entered  Persia,  whence  he  departed  amid  the  blessings  and  tears  of 
many  friends,  having  finished  his  translation  in  February,  181 2.  The  extreme 
hardships  of  an  eight  weeks'  journey  developed  the  weakness  of  his  lungs  and 
a  raging  fever  increased  his  sufferings.  He  applied  for  leave  to  return  to  Eng- 
land, being  too  ill  to  traverse  Asia  toward  India.  Though  reduced  to  a  mere 
skeleton  he  still  pursued  his  painful  way  until  he  reached  Tocat,  in  Western 
Turkey,  where,  on  the  sixteenth  of  October,  181 2,  he  rested  from  all  his  toils. 

Never  were  his  hopes  more  clear  and  strong  than  amid  these  last  distresses. 
Even  at  Tocat  he  wrote,  "  I  sat  in  the  orchard  and  thought  with  sweet  comfort 
and  peace  of  my  God,  in  solitude  my  Company,  my  Friend,  and  Comforter." 
Thus  passed  away  this  young  man  of  thirty-one,  who  compressed  into  six  years 
the  work  of  a  full  lifetime,  and  whose  death  accomplished  as  much  as  his  life. 
Many  have  been  moved  to  missionary  service  by  his  example,  and  thousands 
have  been  stimulated  to  a  new  spiritual  activity  by  his  Journals.  His  grave 
took  possession  of  the  land  for  Christ,  and  Tocat  is  now  an  out-station  of 
Sivas,  in  our  own  Western  Turkey  Mission.  And  always  on  the  anniversary  of 
his  death  a  memorial  sermon  is  preached  in  the  cathedral  of  Truro,  in  which  the 
cause  he  loved  is  set  forth.  Young  people  who  wish  to  make  the  most  of  their 
lives  may  see  in  the  high  honor  given  Martyn,  in  the  unsought  but  real  and 
lasting  fame  and  influence  for  good  which  he  acquired,  an  illustration  of  our 
Lord's  saying,  "  He  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it." 


A.    L.  0.    E. 


I    MISSIONARY    IX    INDIA. 


The  juvenile  libraries  of  England  and  America  from  1852  onward  have  been 
often  replenished  by  the  addition  of  stories  bearing  on  the  title-page  the  myste- 
rious imprint,  By  A.  L.  O.  E.  It  was  long  before  the  public  were  informed  that 
these  letters  signified  A  Lady  of  England,  and  that  the  lady  was  Miss  Charlotte 
Tucker,  the  daughter  of  a  gentleman  who  had  been  prominent  in  the  Bengal 
Civil  Service,  and  afterwards  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  East 
India  Company  in  London.  His  daughter  Charlotte  was  born  in  May,  182 1, 
and  spent  most  of  her  life  in  England  —  a  happy  member  of  an  honored  family, 
moving  in  the  best  circles.  Among  the  guests  of  the  household  in  her  younger 
days  were  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  other  well-known  people  of  distinction  ; 
and  both  in  society  and  at  home  Miss  Tucker  was  rich  in  loving  friends. 

Gayety,  energy,  and  industry  characterized  the  youth  of  A.  L.  O.  E.  In  mid- 
dle life  she  resolutely  set  her  foot  upon  all  personal  ambitions  and  yielded  her 
gifts  to  the  Lord's  service  in  a  way  more  earnest  than  ever  before.  The  seventy- 
nine  volumes  of  her  published  works  were  written  with  the  single  desire  to  do 
good,  and  were  very  popular  and  useful  in  their  day. 

But  it  was  not  till  Miss  Tucker  had  reached  an  age  when  toil  is  often 
exchanged  for  rest,  that  she  began  the  work  which  gives  her  a  place  in  the  annals 
of  missions.  Her  father's  long  residence  in  India,  the  honorable  career  of  her 
brothers  in  that  country,  and  the  wonderful  opening  of  doors  for  missionary 
effort  had  always  engaged  her  eager  interest  in  the  Christian  work  done  there. 
She  "  considered  missionary  work  of  all  works  the  highest."  Perhaps  she  had 
heard  that  story  often  told  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  whom  she  ardently 
admired,  which  narrates  how  he  sternly  said  to  a  young  man  who  was  speaking 
of  missions  with  supercilious  contempt :  "  Sir,  you  forget  your  marching  orders  : 
'Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature  !'"  At  the 
age  of  fifty-four,  Miss  Tucker  stood  unfettered,  absolutely  necessary  to  none  ; 
she  was  in  sound  health  and  she  could  pay  her  own  way,  so  that  no  risk  of  mis- 
sionary funds  would  be  involved  :  why  should  she  not  devote  the  evening  of 
her  life  to  India? 

As  might  have  been  expected,  her  plan  met  with  great  opposition,  for  no  such 
attempt  had  ever  been  made  before  at  such  an  age.  Her  devoted  friends  shrank 
from  the  parting  and  they  also  believed  that  she  could  not  endure  the  Indian 
climate  or  the  strain  of  missionary  life.  However,  her  resolute  spirit  carried  her 
through,  and  after  a  victorious  campaign  with  the  Hindustani  language  at  home, 

371 


372 


A.  L.  O.  E. 


she  offered  herself  to  the  Church  of  England  Zenana  Society,  and  sailed  for  India 
in  1875. 

A  missionary  described  her  on  her  arrival  there  as  "  tall,  slight,  with  lofty  brow, 
sparkling  eye,  face  constantly  beaming  with  love  and  intelligence,  genius  in  every 
look,  figure  agile  and  graceful."  On  her  part  she  wrote  :  "lam  particularly 
delighted  with  the  American  missionaries  I  have  seen.  ...  It  seems  to  me  as  if 
both  England  and  America  had  sent  their  cream  to  India." 


IN   THE  ZENANA. 


While  traveling  northwestward  from  Bombay  to  the  Punjab,  this  indefatigable 
lady  wrote  her  first  book  for  the  service  of  India.  Thirty-nine  booklets  are 
mentioned  in  her  biography  as  among  those  she  wrote  for  translation  into  Indian 
languages.  The  love  of  symbol  and  parable,  which  appears  in  all  her  writings, 
wonderfully  fitted  her  for  dealing  with  the  Oriental  mind. 

Miss  Tucker's  first  India  home  was  at  Amritsar,  a  chief  city  of  the  Punjab, 
having  a  population  of  135,000.  There  she  was  welcomed  in  a  bungalow  which 
she  called  The  House  Beautiful,  "  on  account  of  the  dwellers  in  it."     She  insisted 


a.  /..  o.  /■:. 


373 


on  the  missionaries  calling  her  "  Auntie,"  and  her  loving,  winning  ways  made  die- 
natives  sometimes  call  her  "  Angel." 

But  the  eager  and  self-denying  spirit  of  A.  I  .  I  >.  E.  soon  moved  her  to  seek 
the  regions  beyond  Amritsar,  and  in  [876  she  went  to  Batala,  twenty-four  miles 

eastward,  a  town  of  25,000  inhabitants,  and  a  Mohammedan  stronghold.    The 
only  Christian  work  there  was  carried  on  by  a  native  catechist  and  one  convert. 
Here,   with    occasional   breaks,  the    remaining    seventeen    years    of    this    sweet 
woman's  life  were  spent;  chiefly  in  zenana  visiting,  but  with  a  great  \ an- 
other  missionary  activities.     She   practised    the   most   rigid    economy   that   she 


TRAVELING  WITH   BULLOCKS  IN   INDIA. 


might  have  more  to  give  away,  she  taught  in  the  schools,  secured  the  confidence 
and  supported  the  hearts  of  persecuted  converts,  carried  on  a  vast  correspond- 
ence, besides  her  other  writings,  and  entertained  guests  without  number;  giving, 
for  instance,  in  one  period  of  eight  months  "  more  than  six  hundred  teas  to  boys 
or  young  men."  "The  blessing  she  was  among  those  boys,"  says  a  missionary 
friend,  "  is  incalculable.  Her  very  age  proved  to  be  an  advantage.  The  boys 
had  a  chivalrous  admiration  for  her.  She  was  not  left  alone  at  Batala;  a  mis- 
sionary lady  or  family  was  stationed  with  her  and  she  had  the  happiness  of  seeing 


374 


A.  L.  O.  E. 


much  growth  of  the  work.  Not  that  there  appear  to  have  been  many  converts 
as  the  result  of  her  labors ;  her  influence  was  of  that  diffusive  kind  which  cannot 
be  measured  by  statistics.  She  was  kept  from  loneliness  by  the  constant  presence 
of  her  Master  and  by  the  feeling  that  separation  of  body  from  her  home  friends 
was  nothing  compared  to  separation  of  soul."  She  said  :  "  My  ties  to  my  loved 
ones  in  England  are  not  broken,  they  do  not  depend  on  time  and  space." 

Eight  happy  years  of  Miss  Tucker's  India  life  passed  away  in  perfect  health,  but 
then  came  a  sickness  which  seemed  "unto  death."  She  was  then  sixty-two 
years  old.  In  reply  to  her  persistent  inquiries  she  was  told  that  the  doctor 
thought  her  dying.  A  smile  and  an  almost  shout  of  joy  escaped  her.  "  I  am  so 
glad,"  she  exclaimed,  "  so  glad  to  be  dying  in  harness  !  It  is  too  good  to  be 
true."     The  high  expectation  of  seeing  the  Lord  face  to  face  so  thrilled  her  with 

joy  that  a  remarkable  result  followed. 
Acting  as  a  powerful  stimulant,  it  re- 
vived her  sinking  bodily  powers,  so 
that  this  very  rapture  at  the  prospect 
of  going  brought  her  back  to  life  ! 

It  was  a  great  disappointment ;  ten 
years  longer  she  was  to  wait  and  serve, 
But  she  did  it,  though  with  failing 
strength,  with  the  same  loving  trust, 
indomitable  energy,  and  resolute  self- 
denial.  She  carried  on  her  old  activi- 
ties with  high-spirited  cheerfulness, 
"  trying  to  keep  herself  from  thinking 
too  much  about  heaven,"  whither 
most  of  her  dearest  friends  had  now 
gone.  When  at  length,  in  November, 
1893,  her  own  summons  came  she  had 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-two.  In 
the  early  part  of  her  last  illness  she 
was  taken  back  to  Amritsar,  and  in 
her  last  letter  she  wrote  :  "  I  have 
come  again  to  House  Beautiful,  where 
the  four  sweet  damsels,  Faith,  etc., 
glide  about  to  see  to  my  comfort." 
One  day  hearing  the  voice  of  a  friend  outside  and  being  told  that  she  was  too 
weak  to  see  him,  she  answered,  "  I  must  see  him  ;  "  and  then,  with  a  flash  of  her 
old  determination,  "  I  wif/see  him  !  "  To  him  she  said  :  "  I  am  dying,  I  know 
it ;  I  am  very  happy,  in  perfect  peace,  without  a  doubt  or  care.  I  am  longing 
to  go  home."  She  directed  that  she  should  be  buried  at  Batala,  that  her  "  dear 
brown  boys  "  should  carry  her  to  the  grave,  and  that  nobody  was  to  wear  mourn- 
ing or  shed  tears.  There  was  to  be  no  coffin  and  the  funeral  expenditure  might 
not  exceed  five  rupees. 

The  loving  associates  of  Charlotte  Tucker,  whether  English  or  native,  united 
to  praise  her  beautiful  and  consistent  life  and  to  say  that,  "  in  giving  her  to  India, 
the  Church  of  Christ  had  given  of  her  very  best." 


HINDU  WOMAN  WITH  ORNAMENTS. 


fflraJre^Vr^trf^g^ 


A   MISSIONARY    BAND. 


A  book  with  this  title,  dedicated  "  to  English-speaking  young  men  every- 
where," tells  the  story  of  seven  young  Englishmen  of  position  and  fortune,  who 
sailed  as  missionaries  to  China  in  1885.  One  of  the  seven  was  an  officer  in  the 
Royal  Artillery,  and  another  in  the  Dragoon  Guards;  five  were  graduates  of 
Cambridge  University ;  of  these,  one  was  the  stroke-oar  of  the  Cambridge 
Eight,  and  another  was  perhaps  the  most  famous  cricketer  of  the  day.  Only 
one  was  a  clergyman.  Two  were  brothers.  All  went  at  their  own  charges,  as 
far  as  possible.  The  affecting  story  of  their  conversion  and  missionary  consecra- 
tion is  well  known.  Their  farewell  addresses  aroused  the  deepest  inten.-Nt  in 
(beat  Britain  and  were  followed  by  great  religious  awakenings,  especially  in  the 
Scottish  universities.  They  were  themselves  the  strongest  appeal  and  call  to  a 
noble  life.  They  were  types  of  handsome,  healthful,  joyous  youth.  They  had 
tasted  the  world's  pleasures;  but  one  of  them,  Mr.  Studd,  the  cricketer,  said: 
"Those  pleasures  were  as  nothing  compared  to  the  joy  that  the  saving  of  one 
soul  gave  me.  I  knew  that  cricket  would  not  last,  and  honor  would  not  last,  and 
nothing  in  this  world  would  last ;  but  it  was  worth  while  living  for  the  world  to 
come."     And  he  added  :  — 

"I  wonder  what  you  would  say  of  me  if,  now  that  I  am  going  out  to 
China,  I  bought  a  large  outfit  of  things  absolutely  useless  out  there.  You 
would  say  I  had  gone  mad.  But  what  are  you  doing?  You  are  only  going 
to  be  on  the  earth  a  short  time,  and  there  is  eternity  to  come.  And  which  are 
you  really  living  for  ?  Are  you  living  for  the  day,  or  are  you  living  for  the  life 
eternal?  The  opinion  of  men  won't  avail  us  much  when  we  get  before  the 
judgment-throne.  But  the  opinion  of  God  will.  Had  we  not,  then,  better  take 
his  Word  and  implicitly  obey  it?" 

It  was  the  fifth  of  February,  1885,  when  the  party  left  London.  They  crossed 
Europe  and  sailed  from  Brindisi  for  Alexandria,  having  "  most  happy  and  profit- 
able times  for  praise  and  prayer  as  they  went  along."  They  "  felt  their  responsi- 
bility as  men  sent  by  God  for  his  service,"  and  one  young  planter,  going  to  India, 
gave  himself  to  Christ  through  their  quiet  labor  and  prayer  on  board  the  Medi- 
terranean steamer.  At  Suez  they  went  on  board  the  Kaisar-i-Hind  "  with  great 
hopes  and  earnest  prayer,  not  that  we  might  do  great  things  so  much  as  that  we 
might  not  hinder  God."  They  soon  had  a  daily  Bible-reading  and  an  evening 
singing  on  deck  in  the  dark,  with  short  addresses  to  fill  up  the  intervals. 

A  fellow-passenger  wrote  about  them  to  The  Indian  Witness  as  follows  :  — 

"  Many  wondered  what  they  would  be  like.  Surely  there  must  be  a  screw 
loose  somewhere,  that  seven  young  men  of  position  should  leave   home    and   all 

375 


376 


A  Missionary  Band. 


the  pleasures  of  fashionable  life  for  a  wild-goose  chase  to  convert  Chinamen  ! 
Teach  them  !  Why,  they  '11  laugh  at  them  !  So  thought  I  and  many  others. 
In  fact,  we  expected  no  end  of  fun,  quizzing  them.  So  with  that  view,  when  the 
first  evening  came,  we  gathered  around ;  but  when  we  heard  the  deep-swelling 
notes  in  which  they  so  earnestly  sung  '  Christ  receiveth  sinful  men '  and,  after  a 


C  T.  STUDD. 


STANLEY  P.  SMITH. 


few  stirring  words  of  appeal,  went  on  in  a  gentle  solo,  '  Let  the  dear  Master 
come  in,'  it  seemed  to  touch  even  the  most  callous."  In  the  end  several  of  the 
stewards  and  of  the  crew  and  all  the  second-class  passengers  were  converted. 
One  of  the  latter  was  the  English  captain  of  an  Indian  steamer  —  a  free-thinker, 
drunken,  and  quarrelsome.     He  had  heard  with  great  glee   that  there  was  more 


A  Missionary  I><tiiiL 


171 


game  for  him  on  board,  in  the  shape  of  seven  missionary  re  long  he 

was  thoroughly  subdued,  pouring  out  his  heart  in  the  afternoon   prayer-meeting, 
praising  *  lod  for  his  wonderful  love,  pleading  for  other  soul  .  and    t)  ing  to  them, 

••  Win  know  it 's  so  simple  :  it 's  only  trusting  ;  just  simply  trusting." 


o  o 

I 


On  reaching  Shanghai,  Mr.  Cassels  wrote  :  "  It  was  with  very  full  hearts  that 
we  set  foot  upon  the  soil  of  this  clear  country  to  which  the  Lord  has  called  us. 
We  felt  more  than  ever  that  nothing  hut  a  mighty  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  can  be  of  any  use."  They  began  meetings  for  the  English  residents.  The 
British  chaplain  of  the  Cathedral  said,  at  one  of  the  largest  meetings,  that  "if 
he  had  been  called  away  the  night  before,  he  would  have  been  a  lost  soul;  but 


3?  8  A  Missionary  Band. 

that  night  he  stood  there  saved  by  the  grace  of  God.     Now  he  was  God's,  and 
God  was  his."     Many  Christians  were  quickened,  and  some  opposers  converted. 

The  young  men  now  prepared  for  their  inland  journey  by  adopting  the  Chi- 
nese dress.  They  are  so  disguised  by  it  that  one  can  hardly  believe  the  faces  to 
be  the  same  with  the  beautiful  photographs  taken  in  England. 

They  had  been  appointed  by  the  China  Inland  Mission  to  the  province  of 
Shan-se,  in  the  northwest.  Three  of  their  number  went  up  by  river-boats  eleven 
hundred  miles  to  Han-chung.  The  other  four  went  by  the  way  of  Peking.  At 
Peking  they  joined  with  the  missionaries  there  in  special  Bible  study  and  prayerfor 
the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  their  work.  Great  was  the  joy  in  won- 
derful answers  received.  By  November  the  seven  were  all  together  again  at  their 
journey's  end  in  Shan-se.  When  they  have  the  language,  they  will  separate,  to 
mix  up  their  lives  with  the  Chinese.  Their  letters,  all  along  the  way,  overflow 
with  life  and  gladness  and  with  racy  details,  but  we  have  little  room  for  them. 
We  can  only  quote  a  little  from  Mr.  Studd,  under  date  of  November  4,  1885, 
nine  months  after  their  arrival :  — 

"Isn't  this  simply  glorious?  ...  I  feel  sure  a  happier  seven  never  walked. 
The  journey  was  a  grand  time,  and  the  Lord  taught  us  many  things.  .  .  .  He 
has  now  shown  us  that  at  present  he  means  us  to  study.  .  .  .  You  will  be  glad 
to  hear  that  Stanley  Smith  can  speak  Chinese  pretty  well  now  ;  he  took  the  meeting 
last  Sunday,  and  the  Lord  spoke  through  him  for  half  an  hour.  ...  I  can  tell  you 
I  did  praise  the  Lord  for  bringing  me  among  these  real  live  boys  again.  I  found 
them  all  well  and  flooding  the  town  and  country  round  with  tracts,  etc.  We  are 
as  happy  a  party  of  the  Lord's  children  as  you  could  find  anywhere,  and  we  are 
just  longing  for  the  time  when  he  will  open  all  our  mouths  to  tell  of  Jesus'  dying 
love  to  these  poor  Chinese  in  their  own  tongue.  There  are  two  grand  Chinamen 
here  who  are  doing  real  red-hot  work.  One  brought  in  six  or  seven  converts  the 
other  day  and  they  obeyed  Paul  pretty  well,  for  they  sung  nearly  all  day  and 
night.  If  China  is  to  be  turned  upside  down,  the  missionaries  must  be  turned 
inside  out  first.  Pray  that  the  Lord  will  rouse  us  all  to  go  forth  in  his  might, 
conquering  and  to  conquer.  Pray  that  Paul-like  men  may  be  raised  up  whether 
among  those  here  or  at  home.  .  .  .  Chinese  hardships  have  been  exaggerated. 
We  rough  it  in  traveling,  but  nothing  more ;  excellent  food  and  a  comfortable 
bed,  and,  with  the  Lord  Jesus  as  your  friend,  what  more  does  a  Christian 
soldier  require  ?  We  could  well  do  without  the  first  two,  but  not  without  the 
Lord.  He  satisfies,  the  others  don't.  .  .  .  Have  you  sent  over  to  the  American 
universities  yet?  And  have  you  roused  all  the  English  and  Irish  universities,  as 
well  as  the  Scotch  ?  Ler  us  be  very  ambitious  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  .  .  .  It  is  only  a  very  short  campaign  before  the  final  victory  and 
everlasting  reward.  Then  we  shall  see  our  great  loving  General  in  all  his  beauty 
and  splendor,  and  how  we  will  shout  and  sing  his  praises  ! 

"  Your  loving  brother, 

"  C.  T.  STUDD." 

Mr.  Stanley  Smith  adds  :  "  If  I  were  asked,  '  If  now  you  had  your  choice, 
where  would  you  like  to  be  in  the  world  ? '  I  should  answer,  '  In  Ping-yang-fu.' 
We  are  in  this  life,  it  seems,  literally  beset  and  besieged  with  grace.     As  regards 


/  Missionary  Band. 


379 


opportunities,  they  are  simply  innumerable.     Around  here  in  Shan-se,  a  bl 

work  is  going  on." 


8*  &*,. 


a  Chinese  garden. 


But  for  the  rest  we  must  refer  our  readers  to  the  book  itself,  which  ought  to  be 
in  all  Sunday-school  libraries.  It  is  through  the  kindness  of  its  author.  Mr. 
Broomhall,  that  we  are  able  to  give  the  foregoing  pictures  of  "  The  Missionary 
Band." 


THE   BIBLE  IN   MADAGASCAR. 


It  was  in  1820  that  English  missionaries  first  settled  in  Madagascar.  In  1836 
they  were  banished  from  the  country  by  the  heathen  queen  Ranavalona.  During 
the  sixteen  years  of  their  stay  they  had  learned  the  language,  reduced  it  to 
writing,  taught  thousands  of  pupils  in  their  schools,  and  received  the  first  converts 
to  what  was  afterward  called  the  "  Martyr  Church."  As  the  storm  of  persecution 
began  to  threaten  that  infant  church,  the  missionaries  foresaw  that  they  might  be 
obliged  to  leave  the  island.  They,  therefore,  hastened  forward  as  fast  as  possible 
the  work  of  translating  and  printing  the  whole  Bible  in  the  Malagasy  language. 

The  converts  became  more  diligent  pupils  than  ever,  knowing  that  they  would 
soon  be  left  without  teachers.  They  were  eager  to  be  able  to  read  the  Bible. 
One  poor  man,  in  feeble  health,  who  had  not  been  able  to  leave   his  house  for 


COPY   OF   OLD    BIBLE,  opened  at  Isaiah  li  and  liii. 

five  months,  on  hearing  that  the  missionaries  were  about  to  depart,  determined 
to  make  an  attempt  to  walk  to  Antananarivo,  in  order  to  secure  a  Bible.  Though 
he  had  sixty  miles  to  travel,  he  kept  on  until  he  reached  the  missionary's  house. 
His  joy  at  receiving  the  sacred  Book  was  indescribable.  He  pressed  it  to  his 
bosom,  exclaiming,  "This  contains  the  words  of  eternal  life;  it  is  my  life.  I 
will  take  as  much  care  of  it  as  of  my  own  life."  Others  walked  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  to  get  a  copy. 

The  old  and  battered  volume  here  represented  is  one  of  that  early  edition,  and 
is  now  treasured  at  the  Bible  House  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in 
London.  For  the  use  of  this  and  the  two  following  cuts  we  are  indebted  to 
the  American  Bible  Society  of  New  York.  Besides  giving  one  of  these  books 
to  each  convert  who  stood  firm  amid  persecutions,  the  missionaries  left  several 
boxes  of  Bibles,  hymnbooks,  tracts,  and  schoolbooks  in  charge  of  the  native 
Christians.     These  boxes  were  buried  undergound  for  safety.     The  majority  of 

380 


The  Bible  in  Madagascar. 


38  r 


COPY  OF  OLD   MALAGASY    BIBLE, 
ANTANANARIVO,  1835. 


the  Bibles  were  in  time  ruthlessl)  destroyed,  and  only  about  a  dozen  of  them 
arc  now  in  existence.  Several  of  these  arc  not  complete,  and  nearly  all  of 
them  show  signs  of  having  been  taken  to  pieces  and  restitched.  The  volume 
was  so  bulky  and  so  difficult  to  hide,  or  to  carry  from  place  to  place  without 
attracting  attention,  that  it  was  thought  best  to  divide  it.  Added  to  this,  there 
were  so  few  copies  that   the   Christians  often  gave  away  a  fewpages  for  the 

instruction  and  1 fort    of   others.     But 

there  is  a  new  state  of  affairs.      The  natives 
can  now  obtain  a  beautifully  printed  volume 

of  convenient  size,  like  the  specimen  in  the 
engraving   below,   for   one    shilling  ;    and 

thousands  of  them  are  sold. 

During  the  years  of  persecution,  the 
queen  found  that  those  who  had  copies  of 
the  Scriptures  were  the  most  difficult  to 
win  back  to  idolatry.  She,  therefore,  did 
her  utmost  to  lay  hands  on  every  existing 
Bible.  But  those  who  had  once  tasted  the 
good  Word  of  God,  reading  it  by  the 
illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  guarded 
their  treasure  all  the  more  carefully. 
Years  after,  when  the  prime  minister  of 
Madagascar  received  Christian  baptism, 
he  stated  that  during  those  days  of  darkness  a  Bible  was  given  him  by  one  of 
the  martyrs,  and  that  he  used  to  hide  it  in  the  courtyard,  in  a  part  of  the  inclos- 
ure  where  the  queen  kept  her  fighting-bulls.  Besides  atrocious  murders  and 
dreadful  tortures  of  those  who  were  thrown  into  dungeons,  many  Christians  were 
made  prisoners-at-large.  Their  life  was  made  a  burden  to  them  in  the  sight  of 
all,  with  the  hope  that  their  sufferings  might  terrify  others  into  renouncing  Chris- 
tianity. Heavy  and  rugged  iron  rings  six  inches  in  thick- 
ness were  riveted  around  the  Christian's  neck.  This  ring 
was  fastened  to  a  heavy  iron  bar,  three  feet  long,  and 
two  other  rings  and  bars  were  linked  to  the  first  bar. 
Rough  iron  anklets  were  also  fastened  on ;  the  whole 
weight  of  iron  being  over  fifty-six  pounds.  Mr.  Ellis, 
the  well-known  missionary,  brought  home  to  England  one 
of  these  sets  of  irons  which  had  been  worn  by  a  devoted 
Christian  who  died  in  them.  His  father  and  two  sisters 
also  died  in  like  manner,  but  his  brother,  who  wore  the 
irons  four  years,  survived  ;  the  only  one  out  of  a  whole 
family  of  martyrs.     Mr.  Ellis  says  :    "  I  have  seen  some 

of  these  surviving  sufferers,  helpless  and  bedridden,  with  scars  and  wounds  in 
their  flesh,  but  with  peace,  hope,  joy,  and  glory  in  their  souls.  I  never  heard 
from  them  a  single  expression  of  vindictive  feeling.  They  might  have  averted 
all  this  suffering  in  the  beginning  if  they  would  have  renounced  the  name  of 
Jesus,  and  they  would  have  been  clothed  with   honor,  enriched  with  gifts,  and 


MODERN    BIBLE, 
LONDON,  1885. 


382 


The  Bible  in  Madagascar. 


raised  to  distinction.  At  any  period  of  their  sufferings,  at  any  hour,  they  might, 
on  these  conditions,  have  been  instantly  relieved,  but  they  refused  relief  at  such 
a  price." 

The  irons  were  not  always  put  separately  on  each  person.  The  Christians 
were  fettered  together  in  bands  of  five  or  more,  and  then  they  were  sent  to  fever- 
haunted  regions,  that  the  pains  of  the  fever  might  be  added  to  the  torture  of 
the  galling  chains.     The  irons  were  never  to  be  removed.     When  death  released 


CONSOLATION    TO    A   CHRISTIAN    IN    CHAINS. 

a  victim  the  soldiers  in  charge  cut  off  the  head  and  feet  and  slipped  off  the 
rings.  But  this  ruthless  act  was  a  kindness,  for  sometimes  there  was  no  one  to 
separate  the  dead  from  the  living.  Yet  when  Mr.  Ellis  revisited  Madagascar  in 
1856,  before  the  wicked  queen's  death,  he  found  the  number  of  Christians  won. 
derfully  increased.  Churches  had  been  multiplied  and  secret  meetings  kept  up. 
"You  remember,"  said  the  native  pastor  Andriambelo,  afterward,  when  preach- 
ing in  a  beautiful  church  to  four  hundred  or  five  hundred  people  — "  you  remember 


The  Bible  in  Madagascar 


383 


how  we  used  to  steal  cautiously  out  of  the  city  at  night  and  come  bj  se] 
paths  to  the  village  ;  how  we  went  to  the  house  of  a  trusted  friend  and  there  in 
a  room  in  the  roof  met  together  to  pray  and  praise.    There,  in  darkness,  we  used 
t.»  repeat  to  each  other  portions  of  God's  Word  aw>\  sing  hymns,  but  very  softly, 

almost  under  our  breath,  [est  we  should  he  heard." 

[s  it  any  wonder    that  when,  at    that    time,  a    native    Christian    of  rank    visited 

Mr.  Ellis,  and  took  the  missionary's  hand,  "an  expression  came  over  hi 
such    as    1    had    never  witnessed    in   any   human   being  ]  an    intensity  of  feeling, 
neither  ecstasy  nor  terror,  but  an  apparent  blending  of  both;  while,  during  the 
whole    interview,   there    was   a   strange   uneasiness,    mingled    with    an   evident 
satisfaction?  " 

When  the  reign  of  terror  in  Madagascar  passed  away  with  the  death  of  Rana- 
valona  in   1861,  the  eager  interest  of  the  people  in  Christian  truth  burst  forth 


AN    ANCIENT   GATEWAY    WITH    ROLLING    DOOR. 

uncontrolled.  The  great  progress  they  made  is  well  known.  The  missionaries 
who  have  since  labored  among  them  have  been  greatly  struck  by  their  craving 
for  Bible  truth.  Bible  classes  have  been  crowded.  After  the  regular  monthly 
missionary  prayer- meeting,  held  in  the  capital,  there  was,  one  day,  a  special 
meeting  called,  of  the  native  pastors  and  leading  people  of  all  the  congregations. 
No  Europeans  were  present,  but  it  came  out  that  it  was  held  to  consider  what 
more  the  natives  could  do  to  gain  a  full  and  clear  knowledge  of  the  Word  of 
God.  They  had  seen  commentaries  in  the  missionaries'  libraries.  They  con- 
cluded to  send  a  deputation  to  the  missionaries  with  the  modest  request  that 
they  would  immediately  translate  and  print  the  whole  of  Matthew  Henry's  Com- 
mentary and  Barnes's  Notes  !  They  brought  a  long  list  of  paying  subscribers,  in 
token  of  their  sincerity.  "  So  mightily  grew  the  Word  of  Cod  and  pre  railed  " 
in  Madagascar. 


THE  MISSIONARY  MARTYRS  OF  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO. 


The  adventurous  spirit  of  a  sailor,  when  combined  with  the  devotion  of 
a  Christian,  makes  a  peculiarly  brave  and  unselfish  character.  Such  a  one  was 
Allen  Gardiner,  born  in  England  in  1794,  and  trained  for  the  English  navy. 
He  gave  himself  to  Christ  and  became  his  true  disciple  in  China,  while 
witnessing  the  worship  of  idols  in  a  heathen  temple.  Henceforward  he  earnestly 
longed  for  the  religious  welfare  of  the  various  countries  he  visited.  Becoming 
specially  interested  in  the  natives  of  South  America,  he  made  efforts  through 
many  years,  from  1823  and  onward,  to  prevail  upon  English  Missionary  Societies 
to  begin  a  mission  among  the  Patagonians.  They  declined,  "  not  from  want 
of  sympathy,  but  from  lack  of  means." 

At  last,  in  1844,  a  few  friends  in  Brighton,  where  Captain  Gardiner  resided, 
formed  a  committee  to  promote  a  mission  to  Patagonia.  Captain  Gardiner 
acted  as  the  first  secretary,  and  himself  sailed  the  same  year  with  a  missionary 
catechist.  Landing  in  Gregory  Bay,  they  found  few  inhabitants,  and  these  were 
dishonest  and  treacherous  beyond  belief.  Disturbances  also  arose  between 
the  governments  of  Chili  and  Buenos  Ayres  as  to  the  possession  of  Patagonia, 
which  obliged  the  two  Englishmen  to  return  home  in  1845.  Nothing  daunted, 
Captain  Gardiner  again  set  forth  in  1848.  He  took  with  him  four  sailors  and 
a  boat  carpenter,  and  this  time  he  landed  on  a  small  island  off  the  shore  of  Picton 
Island,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Banner  Cove.  There  they  pitched  a  tent 
and  attempted  to  build  a  stone  house.  Some  natives  appeared,  headed  by  their 
chief,  named  Jemmy  Button,  and  they  proved  to  be  so  thievish  that  the  mission- 
aries could  do  nothing  but  watch  their  property.  Captain  Gardiner  concluded 
that  "  the  mission  establishment  for  the  present  must  be  afloat  "  —  living  in  boats 
and  only  going  ashore  to  teach. 

Even  this  became  impossible,  and  they  were  forced  to  withdraw  altogether. 
Still  Captain  Gardiner  was  not  in  the  least  discouraged.  He  proceeded  to 
Germany  and  laid  the  case  before  the  Moravians,  and  then  went  to  Scotland  ; 
but  all  in  vain.  These  churches  probably  felt,  as  did  our  own  American  Board 
Committee,  that  larger  and  more  hopeful  populations  required  all  their  strength. 
The  Fuegians  were  few,  and  were  among  the  most  degraded  of  the  human  race. 
The  great  naturalist,  Mr.  Charles  Darwin,  who  visited  them  in  1832,  speaks  of 
the  Fuegians  in  his  book  entitled  "  A  Naturalist's  Voyage,"  from  which  we  take 
the  following  extract :  "  These  poor  wretches  were  stunted  in  their  growth ; 
their  hideous  faces  were  bedaubed  with  white  paint,  their  skins  filthy  and  greasy, 
their  hair  entangled,  their  voices  discordant,  and  their  gestures  violent.  Viewing 
such  men,  one  can  hardly  make  one's  self  believe  that  they  are  fellow-creatures 
and  inhabitants  of  the  same  world.  .  .  .  Their  language  scarcely  deserves  to  be 

384 


The  Missionary  Martyrs  of  Terra  del  Fttego. 


385 


called  articulate.  Captain  Cook  has  compared  it  to  a  man  clearing  Ins  throat, 
but  certainly  no  European  ever  cleared  lus  throat  with  so  many  hoarse,  guttural, 
and  clicking  sounds.    The  different  tribes  when  at  war  are  <  annibals.     It  i 

tainly  true  that  when  pressed  in  winter  by  hunger  they  kill  and  devour  their  old 
women  before  they  kill  their  dogs." 

But  none  of  these  things  moved  Captain  Gardiner,  or  rather  they  did  move 
him  to  a  heroic  persistence  in  his  efforts  to  save  them.  In  1850  be  again 
arrived  at  Banner  Cove,  accompanied  by  six  men.  One  of  them  was  Mr. 
Maidment,  a  London  Sunday-school  teacher ;  three  were  boatmen  ;  a  fourth  was 
Erwin,  the  boat  carpenter  who  had  been  with  Captain  Gardiner  in  the  first 
expedition,  and  who  was  devotedly  attached  to  him.     He  used  to  say  that  "  being 


FUEGIANS    IN"  WINTER. 


with  him  was  like  heaven  on  earth,  he  was  such  a  man  of  prayer."  The  sixth 
was  Dr.  Williams,  a  surgeon,  who  for  this  perilous  enterprise  left  a  good  practice, 
an  aged  mother,  and  a  young  lady  to  whom  he  was  attached.  A  few  days  alter 
iheywere  left  at  Banner  Cove,  Captain  Gardiner  wrote  thus  from  their  "  Mission 
Wigwam"  to  the  committee  at  Brighton:  "Nothing  can  exceed  the  cheerful 
endurance  of  the  whole  party.  I  feel  that  the  Lord  is  with  us  and  cannot  doubt 
that  he  will  own  and  bless  the  work  which  he  has  permitted  us  to  begin.  We 
shall  not,  I  know,  be  forgotten  in  your  approaches  to  the  throne  of  grace.  It  is 
from  that  source  alone  we  draw  our  strength  and  consolation.  And  when  we 
look  on  these  poor  degraded  Indians  and  consider  that  they  are,  like  ourselves, 
destined  to  live  forever,  we  yearn  over  them  and  feel  willing  to  spend  and  be 


386 


The  Missionary  Martyrs  of  Terra  del  Fuego. 


spent  in  the  endeavor  to  bring  to  their  ears  in  their  own  tongue  the  great  truths 
of  the  gospel  of  salvation." 

The  party  was  provided  with  six  months'  stores,  that  bleak  region  affording 
little  food.  Further  supplies  were  collected  in  England  and  every  effort  was 
made  to  forward  them,  but  no  vessel  would  imperil  its  insurance  for  so  small 


a  freight.  No  tidings  were  received  from  the  mission  till  1852,  when  the  ship 
Dido  touched  at  Banner  Cove  to  make  inquiries.  As  the  captain  entered  the 
cove  he  saw,  painted  on  the  rocks  :  "  Gone  to  Spaniard's  Harbor."  A  day's  sail 
brought  the  Dido  to  Spaniard's  Harbor,  and  there  on  the  beach  was  the  mission 
boat.     Inside  it  a  man  lay  dead,  and  another  dead  body  was  found  near  by. 


The  Missionary  Martyrs  of  Terra  del  Fuego.  387 

The  men  of  the  Dido  cried  like  children  at  the  sight.  A  journal  was  found,  from 
which  it  appeared  that  the  missionaries  had  died  oi  starvation.  They  had  been 
driven  from  place  to  place  by  the  natives.  They  were  cooped  up  through  the 
long  stormy  nights  of  almost  perpetual  ice  and  snow,  in  a  small  boat  without 
food  and  with  that  terrible  disease,  the  scurvy.  By  mistake,  their  powder  had 
not  been  left  with  their  stores;  this  had  deprived  them  of  half  their  support, 
and  fish  were  very  scarce.  After  further  search  the  remaining  bodies  were 
found,  with  other  papers.  Their  cabin  was  so  small  that  the  iron  deck  was  only  a 
few  inches  above  their  faces,  and  the  water  which  accumulated  from  condensation 
on  the  iron  roof  dripped  upon  their  heads  and  saturated  the  bedclothes  till  they 
were  wringing  wet.  But  Dr.  Williams's  journal  said  :  "  I  do  love  ( iod  with  a  love 
I  had  no  conception  of,  with  a  love  that  actuates  every  faculty  of  my  whole  soul ; 
and  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  I  feel  beyond  expression.  His  will  be  done,  his 
blessed  will  be  done ;  I  have  no  longer  a  choice  when  I  know  his  holy  will.  My 
poor  frail  body  is  now  very  attenuated,  ami  my  sinking,  depressed  feelings  are 
very  great  at  times.  But  my  mind  scarcely  feels  depression,  and  certainly  no 
depression  except  in  mourning  over  my  unfaithfulness.  Should  anything  prevent 
my  ever  adding  to  this,  let  all  my  beloved  ones  at  home  rest  assured  that  I  was 
happy  beyond  all  expression,  the  night  I  wrote  these  lines,  and  would  not  have 
changed  positions  with  any  man  living."  The  following  letter  was  found,  written 
by  Captain  Gardiner  on  the  day  of  his  death  :  — 

"The  Lord  has  seen  fit  to  call  home  another  of  our  little  company.  Our  dear 
brother  [Mr.  Maidment]  left  the  boat  on  Tuesday  and  has  not  returned.  Doubt- 
less he  is  in  the  presence  of  his  Redeemer,  whom  he  served  faithfully.  Yet 
a  little  while  and  we,  through  grace,  may  join  that  blessed  throng  to  sing  the 
praises  of  Christ  throughout  eternity.  I  neither  hunger  nor  thirst,  though  five 
days  without  food.     Marvelous  loving-kindness  to  me,  a  sinner. 

"  Your  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 
"September  6,  1851.  ALLEN  F.  GARDINER." 

These  affecting  details  caused  a  great  sensation  in  England,  but  they  did  not 
deter  Christians  from  sending  out  a  new  and  more  carefully  planned  mission. 
In  1854  a  schooner  of  one  hundred  tons  burden,  named  the  Allen  Gardiner, 
left  Bristol  with  a  suitable  crew,  and  a  catechist,  surgeon,  and  several  mechanics. 
They  anchored  at  Keppel  Island,  in  the  West  Falklands,  where  they  set  about 
building  houses  and  cultivating  the  land.  They  called  the  settlement  "  Cranmer." 
In  1S56  three  missionaries  joined  them,  one  of  whom  was  Mr.  Allen  W. 
Gardiner,  the  only  son  of  the  mission  founder.  In  1858  their  ship  went  to  Terra 
del  Fuego,  and  induced  nine  natives,  one  of  whom  was  the  chief,  Jemmy  Button, 
with  his  wife,  to  go  back  with  them  to  Keppel  Island.  The  missionaries  wished 
to  teach  them  and  to  learn  their  language  thoroughly  before  undertaking  to  live 
among  their  wild  people.  Seven  of  the  nine  often  showed  ill  feeling,  and 
sometimes  were  in  a  great  rage  when  detected  in  stealing  ;  but  there  were  two 
boys  who  behaved  well  and  learned  rapidly.  In  ten  months  all  these  natives 
were  taken  back  to  their  homes  in  the  Allen  Gardiner,  with  the  intention  of 
bringing  another  company  to  be  taught  at  Keppel.  There  were  nine  Europeans 
on  board.     But  the  ship  did  not  re-turn  at  the  expected  time,  and  as  soon  as 


3S8 


The  Missionary  Martyrs  of  Terra  del  Fuego. 


possible  a  missionary  took  passage  to  Stanley,  chartered  a  schooner,  and  sailed 
in  search.  He  found  the  hull  and  the  spars  of  the  Allen  Gardiner  at  anchor 
in  Beagle  Channel,  and  only  one  of  her  men  alive  !     This  man  had  remained 


on  board  one  Sunday  while  the  others  went  ashore  to  hold  a  service,  and  the 
natives  had  surrounded  them  and  beaten  or  stoned  them  to  death.  A  week's 
hard  labor  refitted  the  Allen  Gardiner,  and  she  was  taken  back  to  Keppel.  Of 
his  own  accord,  Okokko,  one  of  the  two  young  men,  returned  with  her,  taking 


I'ln  Missionary  Martyrs  of  Terra  //<//■)< 
his  wife,  ami  again  he  proved  most  faithful.     In  the  course  i 

able  to  speak  English  well  and  to  understand  the  object  of  the  missionai 
seeking  to  live  among  his  people.  So  in  [863  it  was  resolved  to  try  another  visit 
to  them.  'This  time  Okokko  was  spokesman,  and  tin-  natives  listened  attentively. 
More  of  them  wished  to  go  to  keppel  than  could  be  taken,  and  eleven  went. 
One  more  year  passed,  and  Okokko  again  returned  to  Terra  del  FuegO  to  settle- 
down  and  make  a  Christian  home.  His  wile,  Camilenna,  was  not  to  wander 
in  the  canoe,  like  her  people,  but  to  set  a  Christian  example  of  domestic  lite. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  better  days.  Reverses  still  overtook  the  mission,  but 
Okokko  and  other  natives  trained  at  Keppel  held  the  ground  until  1869,  when 
Mr.  (now  bishop)  Stirling  settled  among  them.  In  1N72  Bishop  Stirling 
baptized  thirty-six  natives.  Since  then  the  work  has  steadily  progressed. 
Admiral  Sulivan  informed  Darwin  of  the  change  in  the  natives  who  had  been 
under  the  influence  of  the  mission.  As  an  illustration,  he  said  that  during  eleven 
years  the  mission  fowbhouses  had  remained  unlocked  and  that  not  one  egg  had 
been  stolen.  Darwin  replied  that  he  "  could  not  have  believed  that  all  the 
missionaries  in  the  world  could  have  made  the  Fuegians  honest."  Darwin  had 
once  maintained  that  all  the  pains  bestowed  on  them  would  be  thrown  away,  but 
he  now  acknowledged  his  mistake,  and  he  wrote  :  "The  lesson  of  the  missionary 
is  the  enchanter's  wand."  Far  better  than  this  :  it  is  "  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation."  In  18S1  the  baptisms  had  been  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven.  At 
the  close  of  1883  they  were  one  hundred  and  eighty.  The  mission  station  at 
Ooshooia,  on  the  north  shore  of  Beagle  Channel,  had  become  a  Christian  village 
of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  natives,  and  they  had  their  cottages,  gardens,  and 
roads,  while  polygamy,  witchcraft,  wrecking,  theft,  and  other  vices  had  been 
abolished  in  the  vicinity. 

Somewhat  later  an  English  squadron  arrived  at  Ooshooia,  and  a  distinguished 
naval  officer  reports  that  "  a  crew  of  six  natives  came  out,  the  men  as  well  dressed 
and  well  trained  as  the  sailors  of  our  seas."  He  describes  the  climate  of 
Ooshooia  as  healthy  and  agreeable,  the  slightly  undulating  land  as  "  covered  with 
good  grass  and  producing  good  potatoes,  turnips,  cabbages,  pears,  apples,  roses, 
pinks,  violets,"  etc.  Still  later  letters,  dated  November  24,  18S4,  give  particulars 
of  the  spread  at  the  station  of  a  severe  form  of  measles.  A  missionary  writes 
that  many  had  died,  but  that  "  it  has  been  a  pleasure  to  go  among  them,  for 
in  almost  every  house  I  have  heard  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise  amid  their 
sufferings.  We  are  sure  many  of  the  natives  whom  we  have  known  and  loved 
so  long  have  passed  away  to  a  happier  home.  What  a  privilege  to  speak  and 
pray  with  them,  and  to  know  they  were  able  to  express  their  humble  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  God,  and  their  calm  and  peaceful  confidence  in  Jesus,  hav- 
ing a  joyful  hope  of  triumph  and  victory  over  death  through  the  finished  work  of 
Christ  !  "  Thus  have  the  poor  savages  of  Terra  del  Fuego  been  added  to  that 
great  cloud  of  witnesses  who  testify  to  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  to  the 
almighty  power  of  his  renewing  Spirit. 


A  CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT-ERRANT  AND  HERO. 


John  Coleridge  Patteson  was  born  in  1827,  of  an  honored  English  family. 
He  was  an  eager,  affectionate  boy,  and  always  meant  to  be  a  clergyman.  When, 
at  four  years  of  age,  he  heard  of  the  heroic  conduct  of  his  relative,  Bishop  Col- 
eridge, during  a  hurricane  at  Barbadoes,  he  said,  "  I  will  be  a  bishop,  mother, 
and  I  will  have  a  hurricane,  too." 

At  Eton  he  became  an  expert  swimmer  and  tennis  player,  and  captain  of  the 
School  Eleven.  After  his  college  days  he  traveled  and  studied  five  years,  devel- 
oping a  singular  power  of  acquiring  lan- 
guages, Hebrew,  Arabic,  and  modern. 
In  1853  he  entered  on  his  clerical  life 
near  Feniton  Court,  Devonshire,  the 
residence  of  his  father,  Sir  John  Patte- 
son. Here  he  was  surrounded  by  a 
large,  delightful,  and  most  loving  circle 
of  relatives  and  friends.  But  in  1855, 
hearing  of  the  need  of  volunteers  for 
the  new  mission  to  Melanesia,  young 
Patteson  renounced  all  these  home  joys 
and  bright  prospects  and  sailed  for  New 
Zealand.  He  did  it  gladly,  like  a  true 
soldier  of  the  cross.  "  I  cannot  doubt," 
he  wrote,  "  that  all  the  cheerfulness  and 
calm  I  enjoy  now  is  a  great  gift  to  help 
me  through  what  is  to  come.  I  do 
feel  very  happy." 

The  northern  islands  of  Melanesia  are  so  near  the  equator  that  Europeans 
can  live  there  only  about  three  months  in  the  year.  Each  island  has  also  its 
own  language  or  dialect.  It  was  therefore  decided  to  visit  them  yearly  from 
New  Zealand  in  a  missionary  ship,  win  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  take 
their  children  to  Auckland,  there  to  train  them  as  teachers  for  their  own  islands. 
This  was  the  work  which  Bishop  Selwyn,  of  New  Zealand,  wished  to  entrust  to 
Mr.  Patteson.  Much  of  his  time  would  thus  be  spent  at  sea,  and  till  near  the 
close  of  his  life  no  one  knew  that  he  was  peculiarly  sensitive  to  the  discomforts 
of  the  sea,  always  suffering  from  dizziness  and  headache  on  shipboard. 

On  his  first  Melanesian  voyage  in  the  Southern  Cross,  Mr.  Patteson  wrote  of 
one  island  after  another  :  "  How  lovely  it  was  !     Who  can  show  you  the  bright 

39° 


JOHN    COLERIDGE    PATTESON. 


A  Christian  Knight-errant  and  Hero. 


line  of  surf  breaking  the  blue  of  this  truly  pacific  ocean  !  "     "<  >h,  the  bea 

the  deep  clefts  in  the  coral  reels,  lined  with  coral  —  blue,  purple,  s<  arlet,  green, 

and  white  !     It  is  quite  indescribable." 

The  custom  was  to  anchor  off  an  island,  row  in  in  a  boat,  and  then  swim  or 
wade  ashore.  Perfect  confidence  and  case  of  manner  must  be  preserved  amid 
the  noisy  crowd  pressing  around.  The  least  appearance  of  distrust  or  suspicion 
would  have  been  dangerous.  Small  presents  would  be  exchanged  for  fruit  and 
yams,  and  the  most  promising  boys  be  invited  to  sail  away  with  the  ship  to  be 
taught.  These  pupils  were  under  Mr.  Patteson's  care  at  Auckland.  He  clothed 
them,  and  taught  them  to  sweep  and  clean  their  rooms.  From  ten  to  twelve 
in  the  morning  he  kept  them 
in  school,  learning  to  read,  to 
write,  and  to  reckon.  The 
afternoon  was  spent  in  print- 
ing, weaving  nets,  walking  and 
basking  in  the  sun,  after  their 
island  manner.  At  evening 
there  was  Bible  reading,  cate- 
chising, and  prayer.  After  the 
others  had  gone  to  bed  the 
brightest  young  men  helped 
their  teacher  in  his  work  of 
translation.  These  pupils  were 
kept  at  Auckland  through  the 
summer  (our  winter)  months, 
and  then  Mr.  Patteson  took 
them  home.  This  was  the 
course  pursued  for  several 
years,  the  New  Zealand  winter  being  too  severe  for  those  children  of  the  sun. 
It  was  also  necessary  in  order  to  keep  the  islanders  familiar  with  the  missionaries 
and  assured  of  their  good  faith. 

But  this  yearly  breaking  up  proved  a  great  hindrance  to  systematic  teaching  j 
therefore,  in  1858,  Mr.  Patteson  was  left  by  the  Southern  Cross,  with  twelve  of 
his  boys,  on  the  Melanesian  island  of  Lifu,  to  continue  their  training.  There  this 
refined  and  high-minded  gentleman  lived  alone  with  the  natives  for  four  months, 
and  he  alluded  to  the  privations  of  the  time  only  by  saying  at  its  close,  "  Of 
course  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  a  good  talk  in  English  with  some  one."  This 
experiment  was  repeated  in  1S60  at  Mota,  the  islanders  receiving  him  with 
delight.  "  I  have  never  been  alone  yet,"  he  wrote  ;  "  I  have  always  had  natives 
with  me  —  communicants.  I  may  spend  much  of  this  winter  in  my  boat,  and 
on  other  islands,  yet  I  shall  return  and  administer  the  blessed  sacrament,  and 
very  solemn  it  is  to  be  gathered  together,  a  small  group  in  the  great,  wide  waste 
of  Melanesia.  Those  nights,  when  I  lie  down  in  a  long  hut  among  forty  or  fifty 
naked  men  —  cannibals  —  the  only  Christian  on  the  island,  —  that  is  the  time  to 
pour  out  the  heart  in  prayer  that  they,  those  dark,  wild  heathen  about  me,  may 
be  turned  from  Satan  unto  God." 


ISLAND    SCENERY. 


392 


A  Christian  Knight-errant  and  Hero. 


Such  remarkable  fitness  had  Mr.  Patteson  shown  for  his  island  duties  that  in 
i860  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Melanesia.  His  work  went  on  successfully,  and 
it  was  not  till  1864  that  any  real  harm  came  to  his  party.  That  year  two 
dear  young  friends,  who  had  become  assistants  in  his  missionary  voyages,  were 
shot  with  poisoned  arrows  at  Santa  Cruz.  They  were  Edwin  Nobbs  and  Fisher 
Young,  "  Pitcairners  "  from  Norfolk  Island.  They  died  a  distressing  death  from 
lockjaw.  "But,"  wrote  Bishop  Patteson,  "their  thankful,  happy,  holy  dispo- 
sitions shone  out  brightly  through  all.  When  agonized  by  thirst  or  fearful  con- 
vulsions, one  prayer  or  verse  of  Scripture  always  brought  the  soft,  beautiful  smile 
to  their  dear  faces.     All  was  perfect  peace." 

In  1S65  there  were  seventy  Melanesians  at  Auckland  —  fifty  males  and  twenty 
females.  The  first  girl  brought  from  the  islands  was  clothed  in  garments  made 
by  the  bishop's  own  hands.     All  the  pupils  served  in  rotation  as  cooks.     There 

were  no  servants ;  all  lived 
together  and  did  the  work, 
the  bishop  sweeping  his  own 
room,  etc.,  as  a  part  of  his 
teaching  of  the  duty  and 
dignity  of  work.  Many  of 
the  pupils  were  Christians, 
and  lovable,  intelligent  com- 
panions, devotedly  attached 
to  their  leader.  The  island 
people,  too,  liked  him,  and 
welcomed  him  joyously  as 
he  returned  year  after  year. 
The  same  noisy,  uncivilized 
crowd  gathered  around,  but 
it  was  friendly,  and  quarrels 
among  themselves  had  great- 
ly decreased. 

In  1866  the  mission  headquarters  were  removed  to  Norfolk  Island,  formerly 
an  English  convict  settlement.  The  convicts  had  been  removed,  and  the  Pit- 
cairners had  been  placed  there.  The  English  government  gave  to  the  Melane- 
sian  Mission  2,000  acres  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  island,  and  the  Auck- 
land buildings  were  brought  thither.  Being  many  hundred  miles  nearer  the 
islands,  the  Southern  Cross  could  make  several  voyages  a  year.  The  mission 
expenses  would  thus  be  greatly  lessened.  The  bishop  had  been  obliged  to  con- 
tribute 1,000  pounds  from  his  private  resources  for  its  support  the  previous 
year  at  Auckland.  Several  young  English  clergymen  were  now  his  assistants, 
and  in  1869  the  school  numbered  160,  a  goodly  and  happy  company,  of 
whom  a  large  number  were  true  Christians,  while  former  pupils  were  success- 
fully preaching  the  love  of  Christ  in  their  own  island  homes.  But  the  greed  of 
wicked  men  began  to  threaten  the  continuance  of  this  peaceful  and  prosperous 
work.  Labor-ships,  called  by  the  natives,  "  snatch-snatch,"  came  from  Queens- 
land and  Fiji,  seeking  laborers  for  those  places.     Their  captains  decoyed  the 


A    NATIVE    HOUSE. 


A  Christum  Knight-errant  and  Hero, 


natives  onboard,  sometimes  even  professing  that  the  bishop  was  there,  and  then 
put  them  under  the  hatches,  and  sailed  away.  Atrocious  murders  and  wholesale 
slaughters  became  common.  "  Kill-kill"  ships,  commanded  by  white  men,  took 
the  wild  natives  to  their  enemies' islands,  and  assisted  in  attacking  them.  This 
endangered  the  missionaries,  as  the  natives  could  not  always  discriminate  between 
friendly  and  unfriendly  whites.  Hereafter  bishop  Patteson  would  risk  no  life  hut 
his  own.  Wherever  there  was  danger  he  landed  alone.  He  excused  before- 
hand his  own  probable  murder,  and  urged  that  it  should  never  be  revenged.  Then 
he  cheerfully  went  on  with  his  work  of  love,  never  alluding  to  the  extreme  dai 
At  this  time  Bishop  Patteson  became  very  ill,  and,  when  sufficiently  restored, 
went  to  Auckland  for  treatment.  He  was 
there  urged  to  visit  England,  but  he 
refused,  though  fifteen  years  had  passed 
since  he  had  left  his  beloved  ones.  He 
would  not  leave  his  poor  people  in  such 
trouble  :  besides,  he  was  the  only  person 
in  the  world  who  could  speak  twenty  or 
more  of  their  dialects,  to  tell  them  of 
Christ  and  his  salvation.  He  returned 
to  Norfolk  Island  much  improved,  though 
not  strong. 

The  year  1871  opened  joyously.  The 
Southern  Cross  went  on  her  way  as  usual, 
and  the  good  bishop  found  cheering  results 
of  his  teachers'  labors  on  many  islands. 
At  Mota  he  baptized  forty-one  men  and 
women,  seventeen  lads,  and  231  children. 
The  work  was  so  absorbing  that  he  could 

hardly  feel  weariness.     The  people  said,  "  The  old  life  is  hateful,  the  new  life  is 
full  of  joy." 

September  20,  187 1,  the  vessel  called  at  the  islet  of  Nukapu.  Canoes  were 
seen  hovering  about  the  reef  as  the  bishop  rowed  ashore.  His  boat  could  not  get 
over  the  reef  at  the  low  tide,  so  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  be  taken  in  a  canoe 
which  was  dragged  over.  His  people  saw  him  land.  Suddenly  the  natives  in 
the  other  canoes  let  fly  arrows  at  the  boat,  which  wounded  all  the  crew.  They 
rowed  to  the  ship,  and  sent  a  strong,  well-armed  party  to  seek  the  bishop.  Pull- 
ing over  the  reef,  a  canoe,  apparently  empty,  appeared  floating  in  the  lagoon.  A 
bundle  was  heaped  up  in  the  bottom.  "  The  boat  came  alongside,  and  two 
words  were  spoken, 'The  body!'  A  peaceful  smile  was  on  the  face,  a  palm 
leaf  was  fastened  over  the  breast,  and  there  were  five  wounds."  Each  was  no 
doubt  in  atonement  for  a  native  death,  for  the  leaflets  of  the  palm  were  tied  in 
five  knots,  to  indicate  this.  Thus  passed  a  hero  to  his  triumph,  by  the  same  way 
his  Master  trod. 


A    WOMAN    OF    MELANESIA. 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  WELL  ON  ANIWA,  NEW  HEBRIDES. 


One  of  the  most  remarkable  missionary  books  of  modern  times  is  the 
Autobiography  of  Rev.  John  G.  Paton,  missionary  to  the  New  Hebrides.  It 
is  full  of  intensely  interesting  incidents,  one  of  which  will  be  given  in  these 
pages.  It  is  the  story  of  "  The  Sinking  of  the  Well,"  which  event,  Mr.  Paton 
says,  "  broke  the  back  of  heathenism  on  Aniwa."  We  shall  give  the  story  mostly 
in  the  words  of  Mr.  Paton's  narrative. 


NATIVES   OF   THE    NEW    HEBRIDES. 

Aniwa  is  a  coral  island  on  which  there  are  no  streams,  lakes,  or  springs.  Rain- 
water was  the  sole  dependence  of  the  people,  and  a  poor  dependence  it  was,  for 
they  often  suffered  from  thirst.  About  the  time  that  the  old  chief  of  Aniwa  was 
beginning  to  inquire  about  the  religion  of  Jesus,  Mr.  Paton  resolved  to  dig  a  well, 
hoping  to  strike  a  spring,  but  quite  uncertain  whether  the  water,  if  any  were 
obtained,  would  not  be  salt  water.     One  morning  he  said  to  the  chiefs  :  — 

"  '  I  am  going  to  sink  a  deep  well  down  into  the  earth  to  see  if  our  God  will 
send  us  fresh  water  up  from  below.'  They  looked  at  me  with  astonishment,  and 
said  in  a  tone  of  sympathy  approaching  to  pity  :  '  O  Missi !    wait  till  the  rain 

394 


Tin-  Sinking  of  the  Well  on  Aniwa. 

comes  down,  and  we  will  save  .ill  we  possiblj  can  tor  you.'  I  replied  :  '  We  may 
all  die  for  lack  of  water,  li  no  fresh  water  can  be  got,  we  may  be  forced  to 
Leave  you.' 

•'The  old  chief  looked  imploringly,  and  said  :  '0  Missi  |  you  must  not 
us  for  that.  Rain  comes  only  from  above.  How  could  vou  expe<  t  our  island  to 
send  up  showers  of  rain  from  below?  '  I  told  him  :  '  Fresh  water  does  come  up, 
springing  from  the  earth  in  my  land  at  home,  and  I  hope  to  see  it  here  also.' 
The  old  chief  grew  more  tender  in  his  tones,  and  cried  :  '  0  Missi  '  your  head 
is  going  wrong.  You  are  losing  something,  or  you  would  not  talk  wild  like  that. 
Don't  let  our  people  hear  you  talking  about  going  down  into  the  earth  for  rain, 
or  they  will  never  listen  to  your  word  or  believe  you  again.' 

"  But  1  started  upon  my  hazardous  job,  selecting  a  spot  near  the  mission 
station  and  close  to  the  public  path,  that  my  prospective  well  might  be  useful  to 
all.  I  began  to  dig  with  pick  and  spade,  and  bucket  at  hand,  an  American  axe 
for  a  hammer  and  crowbar,  and  a  ladder  for  service  by-and-by.  The  good  old 
chief  now  told  off  his  men  in  relays  to  watch  me  lest  I  should  attempt  to  take 
my  own  life,  or  do  anything  outrageous,  saying,  '  Poor  Missi  !  That  's  the  way 
with  all  who  go  mad.  There  's  no  driving  of  a  notion  out  of  their  heads.  We 
must  just  watch  him  now.  He  will  find  it  harder  to  work  with  pick  and  spade 
than  with  his  pen,  and  when  he  's  tired  we  '11  persuade  him  to  give  it  up.' 

"  I  did  get  exhausted  sooner  than  I  expected,  toiling  under  that  tropical  sun  ; 
but  we  never  own  before  the  natives  that  we  are  beaten,  so  I  went  into  the  house 
and  filled  my  vest  pocket  with  large,  beautiful,  English-made  fishhooks.  These 
are  very  tempting  to  the  young  men  as  compared  to  their  own,  skilfully  made 
even  though  they  be,  out  of  shell,  and  serving  their  purposes  wonderfully.  Hold- 
ing up  a  large  hook,  I  cried  :  '  One  of  these  to  every  man  who  fills  and  turns 
over  three  buckets  out  of  this  hole  ! '  A  rush  was  made  to  get  the  first  turn,  and 
back  again  for  another  and  another.  I  kept  those  on  one  side  who  had  got  a 
turn,  till  all  the  rest  in  order  had  got  a  chance,  and  bucket  after  bucket  was  filled 
and  emptied  rapidly.  Still  the  shaft  seemed  to  lower  very  slowly,  while  my  fish- 
hooks were  disappearing  very  quickly.  I  was  constantly  there,  and  took  the 
heavy  share  of  everything,  and  was  thankful  one  evening  to  find  that  we  had 
cleared  more  than  twelve  feet  deep  ;  when,  lo  !  next  morning  one  side  had 
rushed   "a,  and  our  work  was  all  undone. 

"  The  old  chief  and  his  best  men  now  came  around  me  more  earnestly  than 
ever.  He  remonstrated  with  me  very  gravely.  He  assured  me  for  the  fiftieth 
time  that  rain  would  never  be  seen  coming  up  through  the  earth  on  Aniwa  ! 
1  Now,'  said  he,  '  had  you  been  in  that  hole  last  night,  you  would  have  been 
buried,  and  a  man-of-war  would  have  come  from  Queen  Toria  to  ask  for  the 
Missi  that  lived  here.  We  would  say,  "  Down  in  that  hole."  The  captain  would 
ask,  "  Who  killed  him  and  put  him  down  there?  "  We  would  have  to  say,  "  He 
went  down  there  himself!"  The  captain  would  answer:  "Nonsense!  Who 
ever  heard  of  a  white  man  going  down  into  the  earth  to  bury  himself?  You 
killed  him  ;  you  put  him  there.  Don't  hide  your  bad  conduct  with  lies  !  "  Then 
he  would  bring  out  his  big  guns  and  shoot  us,  and  destroy  our  island  in  revenge. 
Vou  are  making  your  own  grave,  Missi,  and  you  will  make  ours  too.     Give  up 


396 


The  Sinking  of  the  Well  on  Aniwa. 


this  mad  freak,  for  no  rain  will  be  found  by  going  downwards  on  Aniwa.  Besides, 
all  your  fishhooks  cannot  tempt  my  men  to  enter  that  hole.  They  don't  want  to 
be  buried  with  you.     Will  you  not  give  it  up  now?  '  " 

After  Mr.  Paton  had  quieted  these  fears,  he  constructed  a  sort  of  derrick  so 
that,  with  pulley  and  block,  the  bucket  could  be  lifted  from  the  bottom  of  the 
well.     But  not  a  native  would  enter  that  hole.     He  had  to  dig  and  dig  away  with 


his  own  hands  till  he  was  fairly  exhausted.  Day  after  day  he  toiled,  till  he 
reached  the  depth  of  about  thirty  feet.  He  says  that  the  phrase,  "  Living  water," 
"living  water,"  kept  chiming  through  his  soul  like  music  from  God  as  he  dug 
and  hammered  away.  At  this  depth  the  earth  began  to  be  very  damp,  and  he 
believed  that  he  was  nearing  water,  but  he  had  constant  fear  that  it  would  be  salt 
water.     One  evening  he  said  to  the  old  chief:  — 

" '  I  think  that  Jehovah  God  will  give  us  water  to-morrow  from  that   hole.' 


The  Sinking  of  tke  Well  on  Aniwa, 

The  chief  said:   'No,  Missi  !     You  will  never   see  rain  coming   up   from   the 
earth  on  this  island.     We  wonder  what  is  to  be  the  end  of  this  mad  woi 
yours.     We  expect  daily,  if  you  reach  water,  t<>  Bee  you  'Imp  through  into  the 

sea,  and  the  sharks  will  eat  you.  That  will  be  the  end  of  it  :  death  to  you,  and 
danger  to  us  all.'  1  still  answered  :  '  Come  tO-morrOW.  I  hope  and  believe  that 
Jehovah  God  will  send  you  the  rain-water  up  through  the  earth.'  At  the  moment 
1  knew  1  was  risking  much,  and  probably  incurring  sorrowful  consequent  es,  had 
no  water  been  given  \  but  I  had  faith  that  the  Lord  was  leading  me  on.  and  I 
knew  that  I  sought  his  glory,  not  my  own. 

"  Next  morning  I  went  down  again  at  daybreak  and  sank  a  narrow  hole  in  the 
centre  about  two  feet  deep.  The  perspiration  broke  over  me  with  uncontrollable 
excitement,  and  I  trembled  through  every  limb,  when  the  water  rushed  up  and 
began  to  fill  the  hole.  Muddy  though  it  was,  I  eagerly  tasted  it,  and  the  little 
'tinny'  dropped  from  my  hand  with  sheer  joy,  and  I  almost  fell  upon  my  knees 
in  that  muddy  bottom  to  praise  the  Lord.  It  was  water  !  It  was  fresh  water  ! 
It  was  living  water  from  Jehovah's  well  !  True,  it  was  a  little  brackish,  but 
nothing  to  speak  of;  and  no  spring  in  the  desert,  cooling  the  parched  lips  of  a 
fevered  pilgrim,  ever  appeared  more  worthy  of  being  called  a  well  of  God  than 
did  that  water  to  me. 

"  The  chiefs  had  assembled  with  their  men  near  by.  They  waited  on  in  eager 
expectancy.  It  was  a  rehearsal,  in  a  small  way,  of  the  Israelites  coming  round, 
while  Moses  struck  the  rock  and  called  for  water.  By-and-by,  when  I  had 
praised  the  Lord  and  my  excitement  was  a  little  calmed,  the  mud  being  also 
greatly  settled,  I  filled  a  jug  which  I  had  taken  down  empty  in  the  sight  of  them 
all,  and,  ascending  to  the  top,  called  for  them  to  come  and  see  the  rain  which 
Jehovah  God  had  given  us  through  the  well.  They  closed  around  me  in  haste, 
and  gazed  on  it  in  superstitious  fear.  The  old  chief  shook  it  to  see  if  it  would 
spill,  and  then  touched  it  to  see  if  it  felt  like  water.  At  last  he  tasted  it,  and 
rolling  it  in  his  mouth  with  joy  for  a  moment,  he  swallowed  it  and  shouted  : 
'Rain!  rain!  Yes,  it  is  rain  !  But  how  did  you  get  it?'  I  repeated:  'Jeho- 
vah, my  God,  gave  it  out  of  his  own  earth  in  answer  to  our  labors  and  prayers. 
Go  and  see  it  springing  up  for  yourselves  ! '  " 

And  they  went  and  saw  and  marveled  and  gave  praise  to  Crod.  We  have  not 
room  for  the  story  of  what  followed,  but  must  refer  to  the  volume  itself.  The 
people  recognized  this  well  as  a  great  boon  from  Jehovah  ;  and  Mr.  Paton  says  : 
"  Company  after  company  came  to  the  spot  loaded  with  their  gods  of  wood  and 
stone  and  piled  them  up  in  heaps,  amid  the  tears  and  sobs  of  some  and  the 
shouts  of  others,  in  which  was  heard  the  oft-repeated  word,  '  Jehovah,  Jehovah.' 
The  old  chief  Namakei  said,  '  Mis>i.  I  think  I  could  help  you  next  Sabbath. 
Will  you  let  me  preach  a  sermon  on  the  well?'  'Yes,'  I  at  once  replied,  'if 
you  will  try  to  bring  all  the  people  to  hear  you.'  '  Missi,  I  will  try,1  he  eagerly 
promised.  And  preach  he  did,  a  rousing  sermon,  closing  with  these  words: 
'The  Jehovah  God  has  sent  us  rain  from  the  earth.  Why  should  he  not  also 
send  his  Son  from  heaven?  Namakei  stands  up  for  Jehovah!'  In  those 
intensely   exciting  days   we   sat   still    and   saw   the   salvation   of  the    Lord." 


NATIVE  GRASS-HOUSE,  SANDWICH   ISLANDS. 


MISSION  STORIES  OF  MANY  LANDS. 

A  book  for  Young  People  and  for  all  People.     A  book  for  tin    holid  iy    and 

for  all  days  ;  for  the  home  and  the  Sunday-school  library.      Profusely  illustl 

A    large  octavo  of   400  pages.      Second  Edition.      Price,   by   mail  or  express 

prepaid,  $1.50. 

The  following  are  only  a  few  of  the  commendatory  notices  given  of  the 
volume  : 

"It  is  the  best  missionary  hook  for  the  young  with  which  we  are  acquainted." —  The 
Baptist  Missionary  Magazine. 

"  It  is  a  most  interesting  book,  and  cannot  fail  to  enkindle  in  the  hearts  of  both  old  and 
young  a  greater  zeal  for  the  cause  of  the  Master."  —  The  Foreign  Missionary  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board. 

"  It  will  become  a  permanent  household  book  that  cannot  fail  to  enlist  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  children  in  the  cause  of  missions.     Every  engraving  is  an  object  lesson."  —  New  York  Observer. 

"The  accuracy  and  the  clearness  of  the  descriptions  are  a  delight.  The  youngest  will  like 
the  pictures,  the  youth  and  the  older  youth  will  learn  with  pleasure.  There  are  few  volumes 
where  missionary  workers  can  refresh  themselves  at  times  better  than  in  this."  —  Northern  Chris- 
tian Advocate. 

"  We  can  hardly  imagine  a  better  or  more  effective  step  for  the  training  of  young  people  to 
an  intelligent  interest  in  the  work  of  Christian  missions  than  has  been  taken  by  the  American 
Board  in  the  preparation  and  publication  of  an  octavo  volume  of  Mission  Stones  of  Many  Lands. 
These  stories  are  collected  from  the  abundant  material  in  the  hands  of  the  Board,  condensed  into 
the  briefest  space,  put  together  so  as  to  amount  to  something  like  an  illustrated  anecdotal  history 
of  the  modern  mission  work  in  all  lands.  The  engravings,  340  in  number,  form  a  gallery  ol  mis- 
sionary, geographic,  and  ethnological  illustration.  Apart  from  its  religious  and  missionary  value, 
the  collection  has  general  interest  enough  to  keep  it  alive,  and  to  make  it  a  most  welcome  re- 
source for  the  entertainment  and  instruction  of  young  people." —  The  Independent. 

"  This  book  ought  to  be  in  all  Christian  homes.  It  is  also  specially  adapted  fur  Sunday- 
schools."  —  The  Golden  Rule. 

"  It  is  as  entertaining  as  it  is  beautiful  and  instructive.  It  will  afford  one  of  the  most  at- 
tractive and  useful  of  the  holiday  gifts,  and  is  sold  for  a  very  small  price,  considering  its  elegant 
execution  and  size."  —  Zion's  Herald. 

"  It  is  probably  the  cheapest  book  on  mission  subjects  that  has  been  issued  from  the  press. 
It  should  be  in  every  Sunday-school  library." —  The  Gospel  in  All  Lands. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  wholesome  books  for  young  people  which  has  been 
issued  from  the  press."  —  The  Christian  Mirror. 

"  Readers  of  the  Herald  need  not  be  told  of  the  superior  character  of  the  papers  which 
make  up  this  volume.  But  we  are  sure  they  will  be  surprised  at  the  value  and  beauty  of  the 
book  when  they  see  these  papers  as  collected.  By  all  means  provide  one  of  these  books  for 
your  Christmas  presents.     They  will  be  a  fund  of  entertainment  and  instruction."  —  The  Pacific. 

"  By  means  of  it  parents  will  find  it  easy  to  interest  their  children  in  the  foreign  missionary 
work  and  the  heathen  nations." —  Vermont  Chronicle. 

IN    LANDS   AFAR. 

A  Second  Series  of  Mission  Stories  of  Many  Lands.  Full  of  illustrations. 
Like  its  predecessor,  this  is  one  of  the  cheapest  and  best  books  for  young 
people  and  is  specially  suited  for  a  gift  book  or  for  use  in  the  family  and  in  the 
Sunday-school.     Price,  $1.50,  by  mail  or  express  prepaid. 


PUBLISHED   BY   THE  AMERICAN   BOARD. 
Address  0.  E.   SWETT,  Congregational  House,  Boston. 


AMERICAN  BOAKD  OF  COMMISSIONERS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


MISSIONARY    MAPS. 

The  Board  has  published  the  following  Missionary  Maps:  — 

1.  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.    Showing  all  south  of  five  degrees  North  latitude.    Size, 

5  ft.  5  in.  x  4  ft.  6  in.     Paper,  75  cents;  cloth,  $1.25. 

2.  TURKEY.    Size,  8  ft.  0  In.  x  4  ft.  5  in.    Price,  paper,  $1.25;  on  cloth,  $2.00. 

3.  SOUTHERN  INDIA  AND  CEYLON.    Showing  the  Marathi,  Madura,  and  Ceylon  Missions  of  the 

Hoard.    Size,  5  ft.  5  in.  x  4  ft.  6  in.    Paper,  75  cents;  cloth,  $1.25. 

4.  CHINA.    Size,  5  ft.  5  in.  x  4  ft.  6  in      Paper,  75  cents;  cloth,  $1.25. 

5.  JAPAN.     Size,  5  ft.  Sin.  x  4  ft.  6  in.    Paper,  75  cents;  cloth,  $1.25. 

6.  MICRONESIA.    New  edition.    Including  the  Gilbert,  Marshall,  and  Caroline  Islands,  with  the  Mort- 

locks.    Size,  4  ft.  7  in.  x  2  ft.  9  in.    Paper,  40  cents;  cloth,  70  cents. 

7.  THE  WORLD,  on  "  Mercator's  Projection."    Size,  8  ft.  6  in.  x  4  ft.  6  in.    New  Edition.    Paper, 

$1.50;  cloth,  $2.50. 

These  Maps  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  at  these  prices.  Set  of  seven,  which  Includes  the  Map  of  the 
World,  on  cloth,  $10.00,  or  on  paper,  $6.00. 

The  Board  has  issued  the  following  Sunday-school  Missionary  Concert  Exercises  :  — 
No.  1.    THE  WORK  OF  THE  AMERICAN  BOARD.    No.  7.    THE  ISLAND  WORLD. 
No.  3.    JAPAN.       No.  3.    INDIA.       No.  4.     CHINA.    No.  8.    WOMAN'S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN. 
No.  5.    TURKISH  EMPIRE.        No.  6.    AFRICA.  No.  9.     THE  WORLD  FOR  CHRIST. 

Copies  of  the  exercises,  in  such  numbers  as  the  Superintendent  or  Pastor  desires  for  the  concert,  will 
be  sent,  free  of  charge,  to  each  Sunday-school  agreeing  to  take  a  collection,  as  a  school,  during  the  year, 
for  the  work  of  the  Board.  In  exceptional  cases,  when  for  special  reasons  a  collection  does  not  seem 
desirable,  they  will  be  sent  at  cost  —  one  cent  each.  Please  send  your  request,  stating  which  of  the  exer- 
cises is  desired,  and  the  number  of  copies. 


AMERICAN  BOARD  ALMANAC  OF  MISSIONS,  1897.     Beautifully  illustrated,  and  full  of  mission- 
ary information.    Price,  10  cents  each.    $0.00  per  hundred,  postpaid. 
HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF  MISSIONS.    In  pamphlets.    Africa;  Turkey;  India  and  Ceylon;  China; 

Japan;  Micronesia;  Papal  Lands;  Hawaiian  Islands.    Each  pamphlet  has  a  map  of  its  field. 

These  sketches  will  be  sent  free  to  ministers  in  charge  of  churches  contributing  to  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M., 
on  request.    They  will  be  sent  to  others  for  6  cents  for  a  single  copy, or  the  set  for  40  cents.    The  Maps  and 
Sketches  are  placed  at  these  merely  nominal  prices  in  order  to  bring  them  within  the  reach  of  all. 
PAMPHLET  OF  MISSIONARY  MAPS.    Will  be  sent  free  to  ministers  in  charge,  as  above,  on  request, 

and  to  others  for  10  cents. 
THE  ELY  VOLUME;  or,  The  Contribution  of  our  Foreign  Missions  to  Science    and  Human 

Well-being.     By  Thomas  Laurie,  d.d.   8vo.    Cloth,    pp.532.    With  numerous  illustrations.    Second 

edition,  revised. 

By  special  arrangement  "  The  Ely  Volume  "  will  be  sent  by  mail  for  $1.50;  or,  delivered  at  Boston, 
Room  A,  Congregational  House,  for  $1.25. 
MISSION  STORIES  OF  MANY  LANDS.    Numerous  illustrations.    8vo.    pp.  viii,  392.    Price,  by  mail, 

isBl-oU*  dclivcrc'l  Jit  office   ftX  *'o  Ccioh. 
FORTY  YEARS    IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE;  or,  Memoirs  of  Rev.  William  Goodell,   D.D. 

By  E.  D.  G.  Prime,  d.d.    8vo.    pp.  489.    Price,  by  mail,  $1.2o;  delivered  at  office,  $1.00  each. 
CONDENSED  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE   A.  B.  C.  F.  M.    24   pages.    32mo.    2  cents  each; 

$1.00  per  hundred. 

Also,  the  following  Condensed  Sketches  of  Missions:  — 
North  China;    Foochow;  Madura;   Marathi;   Ceylon;   Zulu;  Japan;  Asiatic  Turkey;   Mexico; 

Micronesia;    East   Central   Africa;    West   Central   Africa;    Hong  Kong  or  South   China. 

2  cents  each. 
COMMEMORATIVE  VOLUME,  in  connection  with  the  Seventy-fifth  Anniversary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board.    Containing  discourses  of  Drs.  Walker  and  Storrs,  Historical  Papers,  Dr.  Hopkins's 

Address  and  Portrait,  etc.    Paper,  25  cents;  boards,  50  cents. 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  "MORNING  STAR."     108  pages.    Price,  10  cents;  five  copies  for  30  cents. 
A  STORY  OF  THE  BEES.    11  pages.    FOR  HIS  SAKE.    10  pages.    Each,  $1.00  per  hundred;  single 

copies,  2  cents. 

PAPERS    AND    LEAFLETS, 
For  Judicious  and  careful  distribution  in  any  way  that  seems  suitable  to  the  pastor  or  officers  of  any  church 
contributing  to  the  American  Board,  will  be  sent,  without  cost  (or  if  it  be  your  wish  to  pay  the  cost,  say  one 
cent  each),  namely  :  — 

The  Field,  the  Force,  and  the  Work,  1897.  The  Aim  of  Foreign  Missions:  An  Address  by  Dr. 

How  Much  Shall  I  Contribute  this  Year  to  the  Treasury  Storrs  — 1895. 

of  the  American  Board t  Motives  to  Missionary    Work:    An  Address  by  Dr. 

Missionary  Concert  Topics  for  1897.  Storrs  — 1896. 

The  Missionary  Concert :  by  Rev.  Howard  S.  Bliss.  No  Backward  Step  :  by  Rev.  Charles  H.  Daniels. 

Missionary  Work  and  Special  Objects.  The  Japan  Mission  and  its  Problems :  by  Rev.  James 

Our  Heroes  in  the  Orient.  L.  Barton. 

Strange  but  True:  A  Parable.  The  Mission  Work  of  our  Churches  the  Heart  of  our 

Tlie  American  Pulse  Felt  by  a  Missionary  Physician.  Church  Life. 

The  Tithe:  its  History,  Philosophy,  and  its  Place  in    Foreign  Missions  in  Home  Missionary  Churches. 

the  Church  of  To-day.  Training  School  at  Kyoto,  Japan. 

The  Missionary  Potato  Patch.  Successful  Missionary  Concerts. 

The  Monthly  Concert  of  Prayer.  Children' s  "Morning  Star"  Mission. 

So  Much  to  Do  at  Home.  The  Weekly  Offering :  How  shall  it  be  Divided  f 

What  Hoys  Can  Do.  The  Story  of  a  Carpet. 

"And  Not  for  Ourselves  Only."  Fifteen  Days  in  Asia  Minor  with  an  Old  Friend. 

Prayer  at  the  Missionary  Concert.  Our  Annwil Missionary  Offering  :  Howisit  Distributed? 

Twenty-four  Days  on  tin-  Black  Sea  Coast.  The  Proclamation  of  Christ  among  all  Nations. 

The  Beginning  at  Tottori,  Japan.  Claims  of  the  Unevangelized  on  the  Christian  Church. 

Statistical  Card,  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  1810-1897.  Facts  and  Testimonies  concerning  Foreign  Missions. 

A  Business  Man's  View  of  Foreign  Missions.  The  Place  Occupied  m  Missionary  Work  by  Prayer. 

Reflections  of  a  Business  Man.  A  Basket  of  Missionary  Chips. 

The  Ministry  and  Missions:  A  Meditation.  A  Cry  to  Heaven  from  a  Housetop. 

The  Hiram  Bingham  of  the  Micronesia  Navy.  The  Gospel  in  the  Mountains  of  Turkey. 

Applied  Christianity  in  the  Hokkaido.    An  Attempt  at    Silken-braid :  or,  A  Story  of  Mission  Life  in  Turkey. 

Prison  Reform  in  Japan.  Facts  That  Till. 

Sermon  on  Tithes,  by  Blind  llohannes.  Heathen  Claims  and  Christian  Duty. 

The  Wonder-  Working  Providence  of  God:  Rev.  H.  M.    A  World-wide  Survey. 

Scudder,  D.D.    Memorial  Address.  A   Few    Words  About  the  Preachers  of  the  Gospel  in 

The  Crisis  in  Turkey:  by  Rev.  Judson  Smith.  Asia  Minor. 

Also,  occasional  leaflets  from  different  mission  fields,  printed,  not  published,  which  may  bo  issued  from 
time  to  lime.    Give  titles  and  number  of  copies  wanted. 
Orders  lor  all  the  above  should  be  sunt  to 

CHARLES  E.  SWETT.  1    Somerset   Street.    Room   A.    Boston.    Mass. 


W>! 


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